Living in Love and Faith Lent Course
Living in Love and Faith:
During Lent this year as a Benefice we will be engaging with the national Living in Love and Faith (LLF) material and exploring issues of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Details regarding when and where courses are running can be found at the bottom of the page. All the courses will run weekly during Lent, beginning with the course at Stone Methodists on Thursday 3rd March, all other courses start the following week (ie wk beg. Monday 7th March onwards). To register your interest and so we can order course booklets for everyone, please contact your course leader (please see the table below for contact details).
What is the purpose of the Living in Love and Faith resources?
The hope is for people in Church of England churches across the country to use the LLF resources to study and pray together. The resources are designed to encourage and enable engagement and learning in a variety of settings. This church-wide learning together, listening to one another, and listening to God is part of discerning a way forward for the Church of England in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. The purpose of the resources is to enable the Church of England churches across the country to participate in a process of learning and praying together as part of discerning a way forward in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.
The Church of England is keenly aware that issues of gender and sexuality are intrinsic to people’s experience; their sense of identity; their lives and the loving relationships that shape and sustain them. We also know that the life and mission of our Church – and of the worldwide Anglican Communion – are affected by the deep, and sometimes painful, disagreements among us which have been debated and discussed on many occasions over the years.
These divisions have come into sharper focus because of society’s changing perspectives and practices, especially in relation to lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex people. The Church wants to understand what it means to follow Christ in love and faith given the questions about human identity and the variety of patterns of relationship emerging in our society, including marriage, civil partnership, cohabitation, celibacy and friendship.
The LLF resources explore these matters by studying what the Bible, theology, history and the social and biological sciences have to say, and by telling the real-life stories of followers of Christ with diverse experiences and convictions. Find out more about what the learning outcomes of the resources are.
We hope that people in worshipping communities across the country will get involved and use the resources to learn together. That is why there is a range of resources in a variety of formats.
We believe that the Holy Spirit will be active among us as we pray, study and deliberate together to discover Christ’s call to the Church today. We do this with a deep sense of hopefulness for a future in which Christians can follow Christ together joyfully, fruitfully and with integrity.
Who has been involved in producing the resources?
The project is led by the Bishops of the Church of England because of their particular responsibility for upholding and teaching the Christian faith. However, the production of the resources has involved a large and diverse group of people. These include the members of the LLF Coordinating Group, chaired by the Bishop of Coventry, and the members of the four working groups focusing on the Bible, theology, history and the social and biological sciences. Find out more about the group members.
In addition, a much larger and even more diverse group of people have contributed to the resources by sharing their stories in the book and on film and in written form on the LLF Learning Hub. The project is greatly indebted to the courage and willingness of the individuals and church communities who have given of themselves to enable all of us to hear the stories of people and churches we might otherwise not have encountered.
Finally, the project has involved liaising with and listening to the voices of the Church of England’s sister churches in the Anglican Communion, other churches in England, as well as other faith communities. The outcomes of these engagements are reflected in the LLF Book and their purpose is to strengthen relationships and to encourage mutual learning and reflection.
Here is a prayer for Living in Love and Faith.
Please use it in your gatherings and consider setting aside time on the last Friday of each month to pray for LLF.
God, whose name is Love,
Whose gift is life,
Whose word holds all in being;
Bless Living in Love and Faith to your church
As we seek to grow together
Into the truth of our humanity and longings,
Into communities where all find welcome,
Into the fullness that is your image in us;
Through the Word made flesh,
Our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/living-love-and-faith/about-living-love-and-faith
|
Location |
Leader |
Day |
Beginning |
Time |
Contact details |
|
Stone Methodist Chapel |
Cassa with David Pickup/Richard Smith |
Thursday |
3rd March |
7:30pm |
|
|
St Mary’s Centre |
Jonathan |
Thursday |
10th March |
3-4:30pm |
jonathan.hawkins@wychertvale.org 01844 299429 |
|
St Nicholas Cuddington |
Phil/Harriet |
Tuesday |
8th March |
8-9:30pm |
01296 748390 |
|
Dinton 7 Stars |
Nigel |
01296 496747 |
|||
|
Online* |
Phil |
Friday |
11th March |
1:30-3pm |
01296 748390 |
* Please contact the benefice office for Zoom details