THE OCTOBER 2018 See MAGAZINE JOURNAL OF BLACKBURN DIOCESE : THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN LANCASHIRE ‘The Mystery of Faith’, our Diocesan Conference, University. The rest of the morning will offer takes place soon - from November 26 – 29 at The workshops of all kinds exploring the theme of the Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick in Derbyshire. day. For more info and to keep up-to-date see the Countdown to conference page on the diocesan website. It will be a chance for clergy and lay leaders from parishes to gather together for four days of As we approach the conference The See invited our conference learning that will, in the words of conference Rev. Toby Webber who is chairing the conference planning chair Rev. Toby Webber, ‘have a real and planning group to reflect on the plans now in place enduring impact’ on parishes. … for everyone But this is not just a conference for those who Rev. Toby Webber writes: The conference logo attend in person… the Bishop’s Leadership Team encapsulates the theme of our conference – how wants it to have an impact on everyone who we believe, live and share the wonderful truths of attends our churches. the Christian faith. So, clergy and lay leaders who attend will be We summarise the mystery often in the words of encouraged to take back the learning and insight the liturgy ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ and share it with their PCCs and wider will come again’. congregations. Our conference will give over 300 Diocesan leaders Tim Farron MP, will To assist in this, there will be a whole host of – lay, clergy, and diocesan officers – time to reflect be one of the conference resource materials prepared. They will be available together on those fundamentals of our belief. speakers to download on the Diocesan website a few weeks after the conference via the conference page on The sincere prayer of the Bishop’s Leadership the site; from PowerPoint presentations to audio Team and of the conference planning group is that and video files of conference talks. we won’t just be offering an engaging and enjoyable few days away, but something that will The Diocesan social media channels, including have a real and enduring impact on the life and Twitter and Facebook, will also be active ministry of clergy, lay leaders and parishes. throughout the four days of the conference. The official conference social media hashtag is We pray that it will contribute to us being more #believinglivingsharing. fully ‘healthy churches transforming communities.’ Please join with us in praying that the conference There are some excellent speakers to launch each will have a positive and lasting impact. part of the conference: Professor Ben Quash (of King’s College London); the Rt Rev. Dr Graham I know that there will be plenty of ideas and Tomlin (Bishop of Kensington, whom you may inspiration for participants to take home from the have seen on TV in the aftermath of the Grenfell programme of workshops. Tower fire) and the Rt Rev. Dr Pete Wilcox (Bishop Everyone on the conference will be able to choose of Sheffield). five from a wide array of workshops. Some will Evening speakers include the Rt Rev. and Rt Hon. look at quite practical topics such as how to coming is looking Richard Chartres KCVO and Tim Farron MP, former address the post-11 drop-off in children attending forward to it too. leader of the Liberal Democrats. church, or how to keep your preaching fresh. Some will take inspiration from art or film. Others Do pray especially Each morning will include a biblical reflection given will look at mission ideas such as community for those going by Rev. Dr Jennifer Strawbridge of Oxford organising, sports ministry, or how to witness at from your own work. benefice – and when they get There will also be the opportunity to discuss and back ask them debate the previous evening’s keynote address to about it. Then help each other ‘chew over’ what has been said look out in the and take away what is most important for our January edition of thinking and our practice. The See for a full Rt Rev. and Rt Hon. Richard report on all we Chartres, former Bishop of Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire will be the I’m looking forward to the conference getting got up to! London, will be another of the venue for the conference under way – and hopefully everyone who is conference speakers. A FREE communications and marketing advice Ronnie said: “As in previous years I hope that this day for parishes will take place at the Diocesan will be a valuable training event to provide Another chance Offices from 10.30am until 3.30pm on October 20. parishes with useful advice as we continue to collectively engage in our Diocesan Vision 2026 This is the third year of the event which has always Healthy Churches Transforming Communities.” to ‘Get Your received fantastic feedback from the parish representatives who have attended. There are still Rt Rev. Philip North, Bishop of Burnley, spaces available, so book soon! commented: "In today's world the way we Church Noticed’! communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ and Ronnie Semley, our Diocesan Communications activities in our parishes is vitally important. Manager, will be joined by his colleague Neil Pugmire, the Communications Manager for “I don't just mean writing press releases and Portsmouth Diocese and author of the book ‘100 promoting our events in traditional media and Ways To Get Your Church Noticed’ to lead the online. It's everything we do, from the way our session. church noticeboards are configured to the welcome we give to people as they walk through They will give some practical, common-sense ideas the doors of our churches.” for church promotion including mission work. Visit Ronnie the Diocesan website www.blackburn.anglican.org Get Your Church Noticed is at the Diocesan Semley and go to ‘October 20’ in the events calendar Offices, Walker Business Park, BB1 2QE, is open to (left) and where you will find an Eventbrite link for booking anyone and is completely free. Book now! Neil your free place. Pugmire The See can also be found on the Diocesan Website: www.blackburn.anglican.org under News, or scan the ‘QR code’ on the back page with your smartphone to be taken to the Diocese website page which contains the current and archive editions of The See. COMMENT: BISHOP JULIAN / NEWS The longer I am in the diocese (where kind of language, but a way of life that have the past five years gone?) the more accords with the teaching of Scripture Importance of I am convinced that there is one issue and is 24/7. that ought to be our focus. In Matthew 16.24 it says: “Then Jesus being a ‘full- It will help us resolve some of the serious said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to current challenges we face in the diocese be my disciple must deny themselves of falling numbers and insufficient and take up their cross and follow me’.” time disciple’ finance. This challenge to make Jesus Lord and It also prepares us for a future as The Master, the centre of our lives, requires Church of England in Lancashire; making a sacrificial response of commitment and our churches healthy places of worship, surrender to Him; putting Him and His teaching, prayer, mission and good Kingdom first in our thinking and living. relationships. The 2019 year of focus on discipleship, What is this one focus? which Archdeacon Mark wrote about on this page in September’s edition of The It is for us as Christians, those attending See, will encourage us to take our our churches and belonging to our knowledge of Scripture to a deeper level. church communities, to see and understand ourselves as full-time It will encourage us to engage more fully disciples of Jesus Christ. in the work of prayer; to review our giving of time, talents and money and to For some that means unlearning what grow in confidence in our mission to we have thought being a Christian is all bring others to faith in Jesus Christ. about for many years and then taking faith to a new and deeper level. I invite us all to make ourselves, and others, disciples. Getting a grip of what Jesus meant when He called His first disciples and set a Being a Christian cannot be treated as if pattern for those to come after them lies it were a hobby that we fit in when there at the heart of our Vision 2026. is a gap in the diary. As someone said: ‘If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.’ It is not about a set of words or a certain God deserves better than that. Bishop Julian Jordan today. A video blog or Chance to ‘vlog’ fronted by Meanwhile a Holy Land Pilgrimage is planned Bishop Philip for eight days next spring (Thursday 28 March when he led a walk in Jesus’ to Thursday 4 April) and you can join the group pilgrimage to who will be flying out to Israel, writes Rev Peter the Holy Land Lillicrap. last November has been We begin in Bethlehem, the place of his birth, footsteps shortlisted for a before travelling north to Jerusalem. We go top PR award. further north via Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee, There is a choice of two Diocesan pilgrimages to exploring the three year ‘heartland’ of Jesus’ A total of 13 the Holy Land taking place in 2019.