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COVID-19 - Revised Guidance
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 The Coronavirus section on the Church of England website has now been extensively revised and updated in light of the new ‘rule of six’.
The changes, set out below, all relate to the main FAQs section of the page. However there are areas which still need further clarity and the national church Recovery Group continues to engage closely with Government departments.
We anticipate that there will be further updates in the coming days and the detailed, downloadable, guidance papers are also being revised in light of that process and will be updated shortly.
The updated guidance includes:
• A new section, entitled Key principles
• New FAQs on how the ‘rule of six’ affects regular church services; to what extent places of worship are exempt; Bible study groups or home groups; choirs singing and choir rehearsals.
• Updated FAQs including on individual prayer, regular services, outdoor worship, baptisms, weddings and ordinations.
There will be other areas in which questions, no doubt will arise and the Recovery Group is engaging with the Government actively on many or all of those areas already.
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Emmanuel College Dean Announced
The Bishops of Carlisle and Penrith have welcomed the appointment of the Revd Dr Michael Leyden as the first Dean of Emmanuel Theological College, the new theological college announced in July 2020 for the north west.
Bishop James said: “This is very good news for Cumbria. Building on the excellent work of Cumbria Christian Learning, Emmanuel Theological College presents an exciting opportunity for us here in Cumbria to join with others across the North West region in offering excellent theological formation for ministry.”
Bishop Emma said: “As a former theological college principal myself, I’m especially delighted that Michael Leyden has been appointed as the first Dean of Emmanuel. I know Michael is keen to work with us here in Carlisle Diocese and across the ecumenical county on all that is planned for the coming years, and we hold him in our prayers.”
For full details please click here to read a press release which is issued jointly by the dioceses of Blackburn, Carlisle, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and Sodor & Man.
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Emmanuel College - An Introduction
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Click above to hear from Bishop Emma, the new Dean, the Rev Michael Leyden and the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Rev Mark Tanner, Chair-elect of the Board of Trustees.
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 Father, by your Spirit, be with us as we found a new College for the North West.
Be with us as we build a vision, make plans and call together the right team.
Be with the Implementation Group and all those who carry responsibility for this work.
Be with the staff and students of the existing institutions during this period of change.
Be with all who are called to serve in your name.
Be with all who are surrounding our work with prayer.
Father, your Christ is Emmanuel, God with us.
May this new College be a community which seeks only to reveal His glory in our midst,
that all may know you in your Son whose dying and rising sets us free.
Amen.
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An Ordinations Livestream First
 In a first for the Diocese, the forthcoming ordination services for Deacons at Carlisle Cathedral are to be livestreamed.
COVID-19 restrictions mean no more than 30 people can attend each service. Three separate ordination services shall be held next Saturday 26 September at:
10am Service
Gill Davidson to serve Cockermouth Team Area and Grasmoor Mission Community
Lawrence Basham to serve Keswick Mission Community
12 noon Service
Duncan Jackson to serve the Benefice of Egremont and Haile
Andrew Callaway to serve Solway Plain Mission Community
3pm Service
Jane Nattrass to serve Central Lakes Mission Community
Nina Orchard to serve Two Rivers Mission Community
Victoria Sekasi to serve Two Valleys Mission Community
All services shall be filmed using multiple cameras, feeding into a livestream which shall appear simultaneously on the Diocese of Carlisle and Carlisle Cathedral Facebook pages.
Meanwhile services shall be held at the home churches of the five people to be ordained Priest in the coming days and weeks. Please continue to hold all our ordinands - and their families - in your prayers.
Remember, you do not have to be a Facebook user to watch the livestreams, just click on the links above.
Please do support any ordinands you may know by following the livestream and hold all those to be ordained Deacon and Priest in your prayers!
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Livestream Explores Vocation
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A special Facebook Livestream held this week is encouraging people to explore their vocation and calling, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hosted by Sarah Hulme from the God for All team, there was also a reflection from Bishop Emma whilst the county's three Vocations Co-ordinators interviewed lay people who all shared their stories and experiences of calling and vocation during the coronavirus.
Click above to watch the livestream which is also available on the Diocese's Facebook page and the God for All YouTube channel. We'd encourage as many people as possible to share it.
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Launching 'Comfort and Joy'
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 The Church of England has unveiled its new Advent and Christmas theme to reflect the current COVID context.
'Comfort and Joy' aims to better enable us to reflect where the country is and will be by the end of this year. It builds on the success of #FollowTheStar, the theme of the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
As part of the 2020 campaign a number of resources will be made available including:
- Reflections
- A Church Near You
- Online services and events
- Singing and music
- Printed material
For more information click here and find out how you can register for free for the ACNY Resource Hub. This will be the home of the digital resources for lay and ordained leaders to use and share with church communities.
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APCM - FAQs and Polling Support
 We'd like to point you to some useful support for those who have queries around holding forthcoming Annual Parochial Church Meetings virtually.
All APCMs must be completed by 31 October. A new bishop's direction has been created which means APCMs can now be held virtually on Zoom or another such platform. This also covers Deanery Synods.
Two further documents have been prepared to help those who may have questions. An APCM FAQs document considers issues such as:
- holding a hybrid meeting, some attending virtually and some physically
- enabling 'phone in' to Zoom meetings
- identifying those present at meetings
- revisions of and publication of electoral roll
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 News of two funding streams in response to the COVID-19 pandemic....
Allchurches Trust has launched a new grants programme called Hope Beyond. Grants of up to £50,000 are now available to support churches and Christian charities to meet changing needs within their communities in response to COVID-19. Click here for more.
And Cumbria County Council’s Eden Local Committee has an allocation of grant funding to enable groups/organisations to offer support for local people experiencing hardship as a result of the pandemic.
Grants will be considered for groups/organisations who are involved in community based projects and initiatives that will benefit the local area in terms of providing food and/or essential supplies or services.
For more, contact the Community Development officers:
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Restore Cumbria Website Launched
 A new website has just gone live for the recently-launched Christian charity Restore Cumbria - which has taken over the running of the diocese's former OpShops.
The charity has shops in Morton and Harraby in Carlisle, a shop in Penrith, and the warehouse in Carlisle, with plans to extend the network, working with local church communities.
The new Restore Cumbria website includes details about the mission, staff, contact points, how you can get involved and how you can donate goods and buy online. Click here to take a look. |
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 Digital Labs is an online CofE conference for anyone involved in church digital communications: Learn the latest skills and strategy for your church online.
It takes place online on Friday, 23 and Saturday, 24 October 2020. Tickets are £5 per person. It's an opportunity to talk about topics such as:
- Livestreaming
- Mix mode services
- Church communications strategies
- Receiving online donations
Plus, network with attendees and experts in the CofE's first online conference taking place this October. To book a place click here.
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Virtual Messy Meetup
 Saturday 3 October, 10.30am to 11.30am
All Cumbrian Messy leaders and teams are invited to join this Messy Virtual Meetup with Sarah Hulme and Jane Leadbetter.
Further details and free booking at: https://www.trybooking.co.uk/TYI. |
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 Saturday 17 October, 10.30am to 3pm, via Zoom
A day for prayer, reflection, inspiration and mutual support and led by Kath Dodd. There is no fixed charge, but a donation is invited.
For more information or to book a place email Kath Dodd or contact 015394 36451.
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Nourishing The Soul 2021
Knowing God is the greatest adventure we can embark on. It’s a journey that we make with God through the ups and downs and, indeed, all the events and encounters of life. It’s a journey which can be enriched as it is shared with others.
If you want to:
- Discover more about your Christian spiritual heritage
- Learn about, and experience, different ways of praying
- Find new resources to feed and enrich your soul
- Meet with others on a similar journey of discovery
- Think about becoming a spiritual director…
...then this course run by the Cumbria Ecumenical Spirituality Group is for you. It typically involves 10 sessions spread throughout the year. On this occasion it will be delivered on zoom, so is being adapted. Full information can be found here.
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