Looking ahead...
We're all beginning to ask, 'what next?'  What might church look like after lockdown has been eased? 

At the weekend, the charity Tearfund published results of a survey which suggest that a quarter (24%) of UK adults say they have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown and one in twenty UK adults (5%), who have watched or listened to a service have never gone to church.

We hope to share soon details of how we want to help with this conversation and planning in the Diocese.

In the meantime, from out of the Durham Centre for Digital Theology, Everybody Welcome Online seeks to make some sense of what is happening.

It considers who is being attracted to online church and why, how best to communicate with and welcome everyone online, and what we should be doing to prepare for 'Unlock Sunday'.

Thy Kingdom Come resources

Are you planning this year's Thy Kingdom Come activities for your church? Not sure how it will work during the lockdown? Not sure where to begin? 

There are now two free webinars available to help - one from the national TKC team and one from our local organisers. Both will showcase a range of ideas and digital resources for all ages and traditions:

• Wednesday 6 May at 11am - to register please email: tkc@rochester.anglican.org
• Wednesday 6 May at 2pm - to register click here

Poverty and Hope
In a previous Digest, we let you know that the launch of the Annual Poverty and Hope Appeal -  which raises money to support projects focusing on the issues around poverty - is postponed.

Happily, you can still donate to the Appeal, which will continue to support its existing projects.

There is information on how to make donations, the projects and the Appeal on the Poverty and Hope webpages.
 

Staying connected with our young people

We are seeing some fantastic Youth Ministry taking place online across the Diocese.

Many churches are working very hard to stay connected with their young people; helping them to stay positive, and to continue to nurture their relationship with God and others at this time.

The Children and Young People Team is also producing a weekly, Ministry@Home sheet to help families to continue to worship and pray together.

Check them out on the Family Worship in the Home page on the Diocesan website. You'll also find lots of other great resources and ideas to help families find God together.

For guidance on how to carry out youth ministry safely online, please look at the Youth Ministry section on our COVID-19 page or the Church of England's Safeguarding during COVID-19 page.