Lent 2021 at HeartEdge

Tuesdays @ 10am for 90 minutes

23 February, 02 March, 09 March, 16 March, 23 March

Creating a New Communion

Exploring how generosity, gratitude, giving and fundraising call us into communion with God and with one another.

Suitably for clergy and lay leaders

Inspired by Henri Nouwen and his wonderful book The Spirituality of Fundraising join this five-session free online study and discussion series, hosted by HeartEdge, and facilitated by the Dioceses of Hereford and York.

Through Lent we’ll explore together Nouwen’s deep conviction that the ground of our common humanity and our life’s work is to accept the “call to be deeply, deeply connected with unconditional love, with our own fragile humanity, and with brothers and sisters everywhere.” What does this mean for you? For your ministry? For the church of today? For generosity, gratitude, giving and fundraising?

Here are the contributors:

Jo Beacroft Mitchell, Generous Giving Team Leader, Diocese of York – Having worked extensively with churches as they develop their mission and funding programmes, Through the course, Jo is keen to explore how the often necessary and challenging discussions around our practical needs as communities of faith, can in fact lead to transformative discussions about what we are ‘for’ as a church and what it means to live out an incarnational and practical faith in community with others.

Stewart Graham, is Director of Fundraising at The Archbishop of York Youth Trust. An experienced fundraiser in individual giving, legacies and donor relationships and partnerships, he focuses on changing cultures to inspire and engage people to fundraise and to look at how they can help change the world!

Richard Jones is Lead Parish Giving Adviser within the Diocese of Hereford. He is currently negotiating the challenges of emigration to the USA amidst politics and pandemic! He has previously served within two dioceses within the Church in Wales; altogether working with matters of generous giving and stewardship for eighteen years. He is passionate about resourcing the mission and ministry of the church, especially the rural church – which is fortunate as he now serves in the most rural diocese within all of the Church of England!

Mark Simmons is Parish Giving Adviser (Ministry Development) within the Diocese of Hereford and brings a wealth of experience from his many voluntary and paid roles including his role as Chair of the UK & Ireland board of the Community of the Cross of Nails. He is an experienced mediator and negotiator, he has worked mostly in peace building, international development, human rights, and educational leadership, notably in youth leadership programmes in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. He has spent the last two years training for local licensed ministry and is a serving Churchwarden at his local village church in rural Herefordshire.

Pre-session reading of ‘The Spirituality of Fundraising’, by Henri Nouwen although not essential, is recommended.

HeartEdge from St Martin in the Fields is a resource network for churches that is about sharing, connecting, growing support and developing - finding new ways of being at the heart on the edge.