Church members from across the North West Leicestershire (NWL) Deanery gathered together recently for ‘Called to Serve’ - a day of learning, worship and fellowship intended to inspire and encourage all who serve the mission and ministry of their local church.
Hosted by St David’s Church, Broom Leys, on 21 June, ‘Called to Serve’ was a chance to gather clergy and congregation members from 11 churches across the deanery, to share stories and to explore the many ways people serve their local churches and communities.
Alongside opportunities to think about a range of topics, breakfast and lunch were shared and lots of time was given to getting to know one another and learning from the variety of church and ministry experiences across the area.
The day was built around a variety of interactive workshops covering a wide range of themes, from modern-day slavery to school governance and spirituality amongst Gen-Z.
Workshops were run by members of the deanery, and by visiting speakers. Sophie Holder came to talk about her work as Diocesan Director of Racial Equity, and Diocesan Building Development Enabler, Gill Elliott spoke about Church Buildings and Festival Churches.
Johnny Abbott, the recently appointed Centre Director and Youth Worker for Heartland Youth for Christ ran two workshops exploring youth work.
“It was lovely to see so many people keen to hear and learn about working with young people in today’s world,” he said. “Hearing people’s heart for their churches and the young people in their communities was so encouraging. Thinking up some creative ways to teach the Bible was fun, too.”
Aswell as the workshops, there was the opportunity to spend time in a creative prayer space and to think about intergenerational worship though a hands-on ‘Lego Church’ activity. The day opened and closed with a time of worship and prayer.
“Called to Serve offered a chance for people in our local churches to share wisdom, community and encouragement,” said Rhianne O’Rourke, Pioneer Curate in the NWL Deanery. “As we move forward with the Minster Community process it is really important we make space for opportunities like this to gather and engage with each other, sharing in the good things God is doing in our communities and building each other up.”
Noreen Mewies, NWL Deanery Lay Chair saw the day as a great success: “I thought it was an excellent day, a good mix of workshops, space to be alone if you wanted to, and plenty of time to catch up with friends and news from the parishes,” she said. “It was well worth doing and many asked if we could do it again next year.”