Click here for a library of resources, including recordings from previous CMD events.
Exploring Chaplaincy
4 March (Church House, Oxford)
This is a training day for curates and other clergy who are interested in chaplaincy.
Chaplaincy is evermore important in our increasingly secular country. It can take many different forms and we will explore a number of these on this day. We will have presentations from military, school, university, hospital, police, and prison chaplains. We will also discuss other kinds of chaplaincy, routes into chaplaincy, and associated topics.
Moving from pastoral to spiritual conversations: discerning better choices
11 March (9.30am - 1pm, online)
This second of three workshops will explore how to transition from pastoral to spiritual conversations.
It will briefly cover:
- basic active listening skills
- the dance between content and process in conversations
- how to discern and facilitate making better decisions.
Part 3 will explore accompanying the holy ground of brokenness and resistance.
Participants will be invited to share their own experiences in the practical sessions, in pairs and triads, and contribute to discussion in the larger group to facilitate a broader learning experience for all.
Leaders: Revd Joanna Gallant and Nick Gallant.
Faraday Institute seminar: Origins of Life Research: A New Nexus for Natural Theology?
11 March (1pm - 2pm, online)
Origins of life research that concentrates on thermodynamics has often regarded life’s emergence as exceedingly improbable, leading some theologians to argue that life’s existence signals God’s special action.
Dr Frederick Simmons offers reasons to resist this argument, explains why origins of life research that concentrates on dynamic kinetic stability provides a better basis for natural theology, and explores key theological implications of this approach to that research.
We Breathe Your Name: Tools for Your Vocal Toolkit
25 March (10:00am - 3:30pm, Yarnton Manor)
A practical workshop to help you explore how to sing with more freedom and enjoyment. The less we have to think about how to sing, the more we can focus on the way. Tools and building blocks will include exercises that help breath and support of sound, the continuum of music and how best to shape the vowel before we sing it. This workshop is ideal for those leading sung worship in all traditions and with all levels of experience. We will reflect on how we use these skills in worship, and it will be a lot of fun, so come along! Small building blocks! A quick phrase to learn before the workshop: “Vowels carry the voice and consonants carry the text.”
Leader: Ryland Angel, a Grammy-nominated British opera singer and vocalist, composer and teacher, Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Study (University of Minnesota).
Moving from pastoral to spiritual conversations: working with brokenness and resistance
1 April (9.30am - 1pm, online)
This last of three workshops will explore how to transition from pastoral to spiritual conversations.
It will briefly cover:
- basic active listening skills
- the dance between content and process in conversations
- accompanying the holy ground of brokenness and resistance.
Participants will be invited to share their own experiences in the practical sessions, in pairs and triads, and contribute to discussion in the larger group to facilitate a broader learning experience for all.
Leaders: Revd Joanna Gallant and Nick Gallant.
Theology and Integral Ecology Conference: new approaches to our planetary crisis
24-25 April (Oxford Martin School, Oxford)
This international conference, offered by the Laudato Si' Research Institute, will address questions at the intersection of theology and integral ecology, exploring the interconnectedness of the social, cultural, economic, political, and scientific aspects of our current global situation.
Speakers: Celia Deane-Drummond, Andrew Davison, Hilda Koster, Luke Bretherton
Cost: from £35 (full conference)
Using the Prayers of Love and Faith (PoLF)
4 June (9.30am - 1pm, online)
A half-day online workshop for clergy and LLMs in Oxford diocese exploring how the Prayers of Love and Faith (PoLF) resources might be used in a parish context.
The morning aims to be a pragmatic exploration of the resources from a pastoral and liturgical perspective and will focus on the PoLF resources as they have been published (Dec 23), rather than participating in the ongoing debate about whether they should exist.
Participants will familiarise themselves with all three sections of the PoLF and work together on case studies using the resources. We hope those who wish to use the resources in their own contexts will explore how to do so well and within the constraints and processes that the House of Bishops have established. The morning is based on the new Grove booklet 'Can we use the Prayers of love and Faith?' by Mark Earey and Phillip Tovey.
Leaders: Revd Canon Dr Phillip Tovey, Revd Mark Earey, Hannah Ling (Social Justice Adviser) and Revd Gill Lovell (CMD Adviser)
Hiring and managing staff in churches
24 June (10am - 3.30pm, venue tba)
More details to come.
Leaders: Susie Sigsworth (Head of HR) and Gill Lovell
Mental Health First Aid (2-day course)
1-2 July (9am-5pm, Archdeacon's House, Stone, Aylesbury)
This is a two-day course for clergy only, provided by humantalk and sponsored by the Clergy Support Trust. The course will equip participants with a practical framework for supporting those experiencing mental health concerns.
- Grounded in research, and developed with clinical practitioners, MHFA Is designed to enhance participants knowledge and confidence in how best to help others, whilst also looking after their own well-being
- within a church context, this programme can help participants reflect afresh on their theology of suffering, healing and recovery
- all participants will receive a 100 page printed workbook, and access to digital resources for up to three years post training, including the MHFA app which provides 24/ 7 digital support
- the training has been warmly received by cohorts of curates, parish priests, chaplains, area deans, and archdeacons
Mental Health First Aid (2-day course)
9-10 July (9am-5pm, Church House, Oxford)
This course is now fully booked. We're looking for dates to run another course. Please email us here if you'd like to be on the waiting list for the next course.
This is a two-day course for clergy only, provided by humantalk and sponsored by the Clergy Support Trust. The course will equip participants with a practical framework for supporting those experiencing mental health concerns.
- Grounded in research, and developed with clinical practitioners, MHFA Is designed to enhance participants knowledge and confidence in how best to help others, whilst also looking after their own well-being
- within a church context, this programme can help participants reflect afresh on their theology of suffering, healing and recovery
- all participants will receive a 100 page printed workbook, and access to digital resources for up to three years post training, including the MHFA app which provides 24/ 7 digital support
- the training has been warmly received by cohorts of curates, parish priests, chaplains, area deans, and archdeacons
Preaching from Matthew's gospel
4 November (10am - 3.30pm, Church House Oxford) OR 8 November (10am - 3.30pm, venue tba)
More details to come.
Click here for a library of resources, including recordings from previous CMD events.