Workshops and retreat days

If we really want to make change, there’s nothing like getting the right people in the room for a couple of hours, or even a day.  Workshops can be transformational of parish life, getting down to detail in specific areas, and solving issues that have been around for years.  Workshops and retreat days can be booked for parishes or pastoral areas, and can in some circumstances be done over zoom as well as face-to-face.

1. Entertaining Angels: Hospitality Workshop

   2 hrs – evening or part-day weekend
   Improving our welcome is one of the easiest ways to open up our mission to our local community.  Pope Francis is calling us to be a ‘field hospital to the world’ and mission-focussed hospitality is at the core of this.  Over the course of this workshop, we look at what the Church teaches on hospitality, think about our local circumstances, explore some quick wins in this area, and make a plan.  Perfect for any parish wanting to transition from stewards to welcomers.
   
   

For more information about hospitality, see the Entertaining Angels webpage

A HUGE thank you for coming to St T’s yesterday and giving us all such an uplifting and heartwarming start to our new and exciting forward steps in Hospitality. 

 

2. Refresh, Renew, Re-engage Parish Council retreat and strategy day

5 hrs (eg 10.30-3.30) to suit local timings

Everything has changed over the past 18 months, and it is difficult for parishes to find the time to stop, pray, and think strategically.  This day will help parish councils to step away from their usual concerns, in order to spend time together, praying, having fun, and discerning God’s call for their community.

For lots more resources on refreshing our parish communities post-lockdown, visit the Refresh pages.

3. Volunteer Workshop

6 hrs (eg 10-4pm, or to suit local timings)

Although we have many amazing volunteers across the diocese, one of the main reasons we can’t do the things we want is for lack of people. Are you struggling to get your volunteers back after the pandemic?  Is the same small group running everything in your parish? Is it difficult to get people to commit even after they’ve said yes?

Our Volunteering Workshop is a hands-on exploration of why people volunteer (and what stops them!), how to get new people involved, and how to grow the ones you have. It leads to a new appreciation of the volunteers we have, and what changes we can make in our parishes to make things better. One participant wrote afterwards:

BEFORE: ‘What on earth could we possibly find to talk about together for 5+ hours?’A question several of us were asking ourselves, last Saturday morning. On enquiry, it seemed that at least three of us had prepared our cast-iron excuses to make an early getaway at lunch time…
AFTER: Wow!! 
Why the wow? It is hard to convey excitement and new hope on paper, but by 4pm that really was what it felt like. All we needed to bring was an open mind, a willingness to work together, and of course trust that when the Holy Spirit promises to renew the face of the earth, that includes Aylesbury!

Thanks again for the new hope you inspired in us on Saturday…

Download volunteering workshop postcard to share around your parish council

4.  Ongoing support

Workshops and strategy days usually generate a follow-up group or activities.  Avril can accompany these groups, sharing the accumulated experience from other parishes.