CW81: Holy Habits

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Holy Habits is a way of forming disciples based on Luke’s picture of the early church in Acts 2:42-47. It explores and encourages the practice of ten disciplines or ‘holy habits’ that Luke presents in the passage: biblical teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer, giving, serving, eating together, gladness and generosity, worship and the making of more disciples. It is a way life for all, from young children to those in residential care.

CW81: Kirkheaton Cairns

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Since Old Testament times God’s people have used stones to mark places where God’s presence has been felt in a tangible way. In the story of Jacob and Laban (Genesis 31:46-48), for example, the two men sealed their relationship by building a cairn as a pillar of witness to their agreement.

This year our little chapel in the West Yorkshire village of Kirkheaton were keen to put Jesus at the heart of Christmas festivities and decided to use painted stones to do this. At one café church in early December we decorated stones using acrylic pens and a bit of varnish, writing ‘Jesus’ at the centre of each stone and surrounding it with simple decorations.

CW80: Building hope-filled communities

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It’s official: good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Rural churches play a key part in enhancing the well-being of local communities. As well as encouraging social connections, churches help local people to find an eternal perspective in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

CW80: Church, Community and Doodling

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I have just been writing a detailed response to a public consultation about the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC). There are a whole host of issues related to the impact of the construction of this massive project: compulsory purchase of homes, removal of public footpaths and highways, re-routing of villages, damage to the environment, road closures, loss of animal, bird and insect habitats, stables and farmland.

CW80: Community, music and fun

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Swinton Village Choir started with a simple premise: meet for a few weeks before a community Christmas event and prepare a few songs to supplement a programme of sing-a-long carols and performance pieces by local children. Many of those who came along had never sung in a choir before but enjoyed singing Christmas songs and thought it would be good fun. The local music teacher agreed to lead rehearsals and actively encouraged participation and laughter in equal measure, so no one felt intimidated.

CW80: Deep wells and green pastures

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When people think of Leicester, many immediately think of a Midlands ex-industrial red-brick city with a multi-cultural flavour. These days they also recall a King found in a car park and the underdog winners of football’s Premier League. However, the vast majority of the Diocese of Leicester is actually rural.

CW80: Encountering God – sacred spaces

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Historically, church buildings were not just places for worship but a space for the wider community to come together and use. Going back to these community roots can offer today’s buildings a new lease of life, while also encouraging more people to encounter God in His holy place.

CW80: New housing, new homes

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Up and down the country thousands of new houses are being built, many in large new housing areas. From proposed Garden Villages of several thousand houses to small add-on estates of six properties in a farmyard, new housing is a hot topic of conversation in many local communities.

CW80: REACT

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Captain Gordon Banks CA from the Diocese of Lichfield thinks that it is important for the local church to put in place a strategic plan as part of its thinking about and response to the opportunities new housing can have. He suggests the following framework for reflection…

CW80: Rural Church schools serving communities across Britain

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Langar Church of England Primary School is a small rural school in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. With just under one hundred pupils, it has spent the last four years putting values at the heart of everything it does. They started by asking ‘who do we want to send out into the world?’ The headteacher, Emily Brown, is passionate about the impact this has had on both the school and the wider community.