TELLING THEIR STORIES : ENGAGE CONFERENCE
TESTIMONIES from those in our churches working in schools today will form the backbone of the first conference aimed at equipping, resourcing and supporting churches’ engagement with schools.
The first Bishop of Huddersfield, the Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Gibbs will open the Engage Conference at Halifax Minster this Saturday (Mar 7) at 10am.
Bishop Jonathan said: “I am delighted to be supporting this excellent conference to encourage churches to engage more effectively with their local schools.
What could be more important than the education of our children and that they should have the best possible chance to discover the good news of God’s love for them in Christ? It is vital that churches should do the very best they can to reach out to their local schools – and here is a brilliant initiative to help them to do just that.”
The conference is the brainchild of the Education team at the Minster who wanted to reshape its education programme and teamed up with Ruth Wyeth, Primary School Worker for Christians in Calderdale Schools (CICS), to bring this new initiative to a wider audience.
The conference which runs from 10-3.30pm on Saturday is an opportunity for anyone wanting their church to engage with local schools in new ways with six different workshops to choose from and a host of testimonies from real people from real churches talking about working with real local schools to better share ideas and inspire.
Education Officer, Nancy White, pictured here with a group of children at Halifax Minster, said: “I never imagined that one small idea could grow like this and be so exciting!
“We just hope that lots of people will want to come and find it encouraging. We want to be able to go on from this conference to run further events and set up a resource bank in the area so that resources are shared and accessible,” she added.
Workshops range from An introduction to Godly Play, Open the Book, Hand to Mouth, Running a 'Features of a Church' visit, Secondary School engagement, and a Waterbugs and Dragonflies workshop to help children understand about death, grief and the Christian hope of heaven.
Said Ruth: “What we’ve learned during this process, is that there is a massive need for our schools to be supported and what better place to start than getting churches together and sharing ideas, resources and skills.
“There really is something for everyone and we are really excited about the impact Engage could have on future generations,” she added.
ENGAGE CONFERENCE: Sat 7th March 2015 @ Halifax Minster, 10am – 3.30pm, Cost (suggested donation) £10 incl lunch
Book with Kim Silcock by phone or emal: 01422 355 436, engage@halifaxminster.org.uk To pay via Pay Pal, Debit or Credit Card: www.cicscalderdale.org.uk