Listening and responding to children and young people : a Growing Faith network

Growing Faith is a national commitment to achieve a culture change within the Church of England, so that every aspect of mission and ministry is considered by what it means for children, young people and families. It comes from the vision set by the House of Bishops and endorsed by General Synod in 2019. It concerns relationships between schools and churches, and how these are developed to resource and support households to grow in faith together. The Growing Faith Foundation has been created to support dioceses and parishes to do this even more effectively than they do at present.
Who are we?

We are a short-term, focussed, action-learning network, in which colleagues who are already working in this area, as well as those who are at the beginning of the journey, are facilitated into a community to explore:


·       How we hear from children and young people

·       How we respond to children and young people

·       How we facilitate young people becoming part of the change-making process

How do we connect?

 4x 75min on Zoom (facilitated by the Foundation):

  • ·       Tuesday 27th September -  11-12.15
  • ·       Tuesday 18th October - 15:30-16:45
  • ·       Tuesday 15th November - 11-12.15
  • ·       Thursday 15th December -  9-10:15

What are our aims?

·       We hope to embark on important, foundational work which will ultimately result in:


  • Existing PCCs, Synods and bishops’ councils becoming spaces in which young people can contribute

  • The development of mechanisms which focus on the equity, diversity and inclusion of all young people and their families, and are open to fundamentally changing the current structures of decision-making
     
  • The development of tools and structures  that commit to a multifaceted approach to hearing and responding to young people (recognising there is no one single approach that works universally and co-creating a suite of approaches to share values of belonging, relationship and servant-heartedness) 


In In addition to the necessarily bold aim of taking first steps towards a radical culture change within the Church of England, it is expected that this network will also engage in communicating with and collecting responses from young people in their dioceses on given themes. 


     The Growing Faith Foundation will facilitate this network in partnership with colleagues who commit to the four sessions.


     The Growing Faith Foundation is committed to providing the support, resources, external contributions and hosting required for this network to flourish. 


     Colleagues are encouraged to see themselves as contributors in this network, working together to create sustained collaboration, as is commensurate with the ecology of God’s kingdom.

Can I join in?

Yes! You are so welcome. 


      Please sign up below so that we can welcome you properly and send out some information and the Zoom link to you in advance of the first meeting. If you need more information before committing to the four sessions, please contact hannah.persaud@churchofengland.org







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