An Inspiring Three Days at Diocesan Conference 2024
“Throughout conference God has been teaching me that we go in His strength, not our own.”
This week, leaders from across the diocese gathered at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick for 48 hours of prayer, worship and teaching at the annual Diocesan Conference. This year’s theme was ‘Healthy Leaders, Flourishing Churches’. It was such an inspiring and encouraging time of hearing stories from around the diocese, teaching on leadership from Revd Dr Kate Middleton, and worshipping God together, as well as lots of opportunities to catch up with colleagues and meet new people. Here’s a rundown of the three days:
Monday
On Monday, delegates were welcomed by Bishop Paul, as he kicked off the conference with some opening reflections on the context in which we are ministering at the moment, both globally and locally, reminding us of the verses in Psalm 121, “I lift my eyes up to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
After dinner, for the first of three sessions on some of our key areas of focus, Mark Wreford from Trinity Church Nottingham shared some teaching on ‘Inspiring Worship’. Mark reminded us of the power of ‘psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’:
“‘Worship’ is the name for the moments in your week which don’t dance to the tune of the sin-sick songs that have echoed around the world since the fall. In fact, when you enter into worship, you are invited to trade the sin-song inscribed in your bones for a new song – a Christ-song, a freedom song.”
One delegate shared following this session, “I was particularly struck by the Inspiring Worship session. It helped give words and a theological framework as to why musical worship has always mattered to me.” During this session, we also heard from Caroline Philips and Eden Parris, both based at churches in Mansfield, on how they engage in worship as they lead.
Tuesday
On Tuesday we were joined by Revd Dr Kate Middleton, from the Mind and Soul Foundation, for a morning of input on leadership, thinking about what it means to be a healthy leader. Kate is a psychologist and part of the team at St Matthias Brighton, and helped us to think about some of the qualities of good and Godly leaders, as well as five things to be aware of as leaders. There were opportunities to reflect individually and discuss around tables what this looks like in our individual ministries. Tuesday afternoon was an opportunity to catch up with colleagues, get some fresh air in the grounds of the conference centre, or get advice from members of the central support team at Jubilee House. There was also an opportunity to attend an information session with the Safeguarding Team on the new national safeguarding standards.
Before dinner, we gathered back together for a session on ‘Growing Leaders’, another of our key areas of focus. Joanna Seabourne, vicar at St Giles West Bridgford, shared teaching on the topic, drawing from Luke 10 where Jesus sends out the seventy-two. We also had a chance to hear about the Younger Leadership College, and a conversation with two alumni from the internship on their journey and the impact of being invested in as a young leader.
After dinner, there was a powerful time of worship in the chapel, where many delegates gathered to praise God together, spend time listening to what He might be saying, and to receive prayer.
Wednesday
On the final morning of conference, we had a final ‘areas of focus’ session, with Tim Parker sharing teaching on ‘Enabling Commitment’. There was also a chance to hear from a panel of clergy on their experiences of discipleship across city-centre, estates and rural contexts. Another delegate shared, “It’s been great to hear the wisdom and experiences from people on the ground across the diocese.”
After a coffee break, we came together for the final session of the conference. Bishop Andy shared an update on initiatives coming up across the diocese, as well as stories from our recently licensed Licensed Lay Ministers. There was a chance to pray together around tables, and then a communion service led by Revd. Zoe Burton.
It was a wonderful three days, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s conference! The recordings of each of the main session talks will be available to watch back in the coming weeks, as well as a chance to see further highlights from the conference. If you were there this year, what was your highlight? Get in touch to let us know here.