On Saturday 7th September, the Rugby Mission Hub hosted its inaugural conference. The Kingdom is Near: Mission in the Sacramental Tradition brought together a variety of speakers and delegates from across the diocese and beyond to explore incarnational mission: what it means and how we can resource ourselves and others to do and live it.
The keynote speakers, Canon Angela Tilby and Mother Charlotte Gibson, reflected on the theology and practice of incarnational mission. Angela explored how mission as ‘being with’ (in a phrase of Sam Wells) sits with a range of different understandings of the Church; and Charlotte showed what it looks like as practised in specific parish settings in our neighbours, the Diocese of Birmingham.
After a eucharist for the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (who could well be the patron saint of incarnational mission!) the afternoon was devoted to a wide range of practical workshops, covering Street Pastors, Compassionate Communities, Community Engagement, Creation Care, Refugee Outreach and Growing Faith.
The Rugby Mission Hub is praying for a rich and varied response to the conference themes, as they seek to set up networks to share experience, good practice and encouragement among sacramentally-focussed churches across the diocese. If you’d like to find out more, please contact Alison at alison.baxter@rugbychurch.org.uk