"God and the Pandemic" - lecture on 17th May at 5.30pm

David Wilkinson, theologian and scientist, who is Principal of St John’s College and a Professor of Theology at Durham University, will be giving a lecture on the topic of ‘God and the pandemic’.

This event, hosted on Eventbrite, is The Michael Perham Cathedral and University of Gloucestershire Lecture 2021. You can find out more and book your place HERE.

“How does a scientist and a theologian engage with some of the big questions raised by the pandemic? What have we been learning about what it means to be ‘led by the science’ and the vulnerability of humans to the natural world? Where is God in all of this? The pandemic has focused questions in the relationship of science and theology which are both helpful and challenging.”

— says the event's flyer

Professor David Wilkinson

Event flyer

(cover photo by Tom Barrett at Unsplash)

Opening up Chaplaincy - a recording of webinar

On 28th April, we hosted a dynamic and informative event all about Chaplaincy. Over 100 people from a variety of churches and areas joined us for the webinar - Opening up Chaplaincy.

You can view a recording of the event HERE.

Guest speakers at this event were:

• Revd Bob Wilson, Free Churches Group Secretary for Prison Chaplaincy & Free Churches Faith Adviser

• Gary Hopkins, Ministry Development Officer, Connexional Team, The Methodist Church

• Revd Nana Kyei-Baffour, Healthcare Chaplain, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

• Revd Dr Michael Peat, Free Church Chaplain, University of Bristol Multifaith Chaplaincy

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You can find out more about the work of the Free Churches Group and Chaplaincy on our main website, under the various sector headings; we also have a special page on which we offer further information and resources all about chaplaincy HERE.

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(cover photo courtesy of Pedro Ramos at Unsplash)

Moving Forward in Hope - recording of webinar - Theos report: university Chaplaincy during the pandemic

On 26th April, we hosted webinar entitled “Moving forward in Hope”. This was on the subject of the recently published Theos report and research conducted by Simon Perfect, about HE chaplaincy during the Pandemic; the full title of the report is: “Relationships, Presence and Hope: University Chaplaincy during the COVID-19 Pandemic”. You can read a copy of the Theos report HERE.

Simon kindly agreed to talk to us about his research at the webinar in April and participants had the opportunity to talk with others about how the experience of chaplaincy during the Pandemic might have taught us things that can strengthen chaplaincy in the future.

You can watch a recording of the event and find out more about the report HERE.

(image: Mary Long Adobe Stock)

Action for Children have two events coming up soon...

Many of you will already be aware of the vital campaigns work of Action for Children. Some of their team have been inspiring and thought-provoking guest speakers at some of our FCG Education Committee meetings and we wanted to let you know that they have a couple of events coming up soon which may be of interest to you.

The first one is about fostering and will be on Facebook Live on 20th May at 7pm.

The second one is called - Boycott your Bed for Vulnerable Children - to raise awareness about and bring hope to vulnerable UK children hit hardest by the pandemic, on the night of Friday 9th July.

1. For further information about the fostering event and to book your place

“There were 78,150 children in local authority care in 2019, and many more foster carers are needed to give them a safe and loving home; that might just be you. We can answer any questions you have.”

— say the hosts of the fostering event

2. Boycott Your Bed is a fundraising and awareness raising event on 9th July - to find out more, learn how to get involved and to make a donation.

“Boycott your Bed and you’ll bring hope to vulnerable UK children hit hardest by the pandemic. Because – while happier times are ahead for most of us – this crisis has made things even worse for children and families already in desperate need. Wherever you sleep, the money you raise can make children’s dreams of a safe and happy childhood come true. ”

— says Action for Children

(cover photo courtesy of Artem Kniaz at Unsplash)

Have you heard of PrayerMate? Are you passionate about praying for prisoners?

PrayerMate is an App to help us pray more faithfully!

One of the organisations who offer links to prayers through PrayerMate is Prison Fellowship. I know many of us already pray regularly for the work this Fellowship - for prisoners, their families, prison staff and chaplaincy teams. You can get a free download of the App (for iOS or Android) by clicking link below.

Did you know that there are around 83,000 prisoners in England and Wales.

Will you pray for them?

“In our prayer imagination, we can enter any prison in the world, and visit Christ in prisoners there.It is Christ who beckons us into the darkest of the world’s jails. Will you cooperate with our Lord in building his house, from the ground floor up, by marching into every prison of the world in prayer?”

— Sylvia Mary Alison, founder of Prison Fellowship

(cover photo courtesy of Sam Rios at Unsplash)