Coventry’s termly CMD programme is built around three strands: Core Skills, Fresh Thinking, and Wellbeing. The intention of the programme is to focus on those things that are central to the life, faith and ministry of clergy and licensed lay leaders.
All sessions are free, and can be booked through Equip Hub.
Please contact the Director of Ministry & Leadership with suggestion or requests for future programmes, or if there is a subject or issue that you would like to lead a CMD session on.
Continuing Ministerial Development – Spring 2025
Welcome to the Spring Programme for Continuing Ministerial Development (CMD). These events are not exclusively for clergy. Please note who each session is offered to and pass on the information to the relevant people in your context.
Stipendiary clergy are required to attend at least two events from the termly CMD programmes over the calendar year.
Licensed, self-supporting clergy, who have completed their curacy, are expected to attend at least one diocesan learning/training event each calendar year, chosen from: the CMD termly programmes, the IME2 programme for SSM curates, or Pathways training events.
LLMs/Readers are expected to attend at least one event or course each calendar year, chosen from: the CMD termly programmes, the Lay Training Pathways, or the Equip Hub programme.
Lay Leaders whose ministry will be resourced by the particular subject matter of a session are also welcome. Please share links with them as appropriate.
In light of these expectations, it is important that it is good use of your time to attend these events. Please help me to achieve that by suggesting the learning/training/development that would be most helpful to you. I am also happy to arrange CMD sessions for deanery chapters on any subject that will support you in your ministry.
Rob Harrison
(rob.harrison@coventry.anglican.org)
Clergy Study Morning – the good news about The Good News
Thursday 30th January, 9.15am – 1.00pm (with optional lunch)
St John’s Church, Westwood
This year’s January Study Morning will be led by Chris Russell, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser for Evangelism. Chris will explore the good news about the Good News. His experience in evangelism is rooted in parish ministry and engaging a younger, unchurched generation in the Christian gospel. Much of this experience and insight is held in his book, ‘Yearning for the vast and endless sea’.
As with all Study Mornings and Days, stipendiary clergy are required to attend. Chaplains and self-supporting, licensed clergy are encouraged to attend if their working patterns allow. Clergy with P.T.O. are welcome to ask to be put on a waiting list for remaining spaces (recently, all those who have asked have been able to attend). Stipendiary clergy who are not able to attend, please email Rob.Harrison@Coventry.Anglican.Org giving details of why that is so.
My apologies that the details of this event come at relatively short notice. There was a delay in finalising the details.
Please indicate whether you would like lunch on registering through Equip Hub.
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/clergy-study-morning-2025/
Looking after yourself in busy ministry
Venue: St James’, Bulkington
‘Wellbeing’ is a common buzz word at present, yet as church leaders we easily become stretched and stressed in ways that are not good for our physical and/or mental health, nor for that of our families.
As a new year begins, this forum-style session, hosted by Rob Harrison, will explore the challenges and pressure points of ministry life and consider what is appropriate, what is helpful and what is wise for both our lives and our ministries to be fruitful before God.
Who is this session for? Clergy & Lay Leaders
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/looking-after-yourself-2025/
Volunteers – recruiting, nurturing & supporting
Tuesday 4th February, 10.00am - 12.30pm
Venue: St Stephen’s, Canley
The Church of England is fundamentally a volunteer organisation, however, as administrative processes become more complex and demanding it can be increasingly difficult to fill volunteer roles.
This session will explore effective strategies for filling hard-to-fill roles, good practice for safe recruitment, share ideas for expressing appreciation to those who most need it.
The forum-style event, hosted by Rob Harrison, seek to harness the wisdom and experience in the room, with additional input from Liam McCormack, the diocesan Safeguarding Training Officer
Who is this session for? Clergy, Churchwardens & Lay Leaders
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/volunteers-2025/
Fresh ideas for Holy Week
Thursday 13th February, 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Venue: St Mark’s, Leamington
Holy Week is a key opportunity for us to engage people in the events that lie at the very heart of our Christian faith. Each year we seek to cast fresh light on the familiar narratives of Holy Week and Easter.
This session will provide an opportunity to share ideas with colleagues and think afresh about how the story of an unjust and violent execution that took place in Roman-ruled Palestine might be perceived as good news in by the people of England today.
Who is this session for? Clergy & Lay Leaders
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/fresh-ideas-for-holy-week-2025/
Engaging Children & Young People in regular worship
Thursday 13th March, 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Venue: Holy Trinity, Attleborough
It is helpfully said that children and young people are not the church of tomorrow; they are part of the church of today. Whether or not our church currently has children or young people attending regularly, it is important that we ensure that our worship is welcoming and engaging for them in their own right.
The ways that families with children and young people engage with church has changed over recent decades. This session will consider ways to enable children and young people to be actively involved in our current worship, and simple ways to adapt our current worship to be more engaging young Christians. The session will be led by James Henney (Growing Faith Enabler) and Anna Naish (Lay Learning & Training Lead).
Who is this session for? Clergy, Youth and Children’s leaders & Lay Leaders
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/engaging-youth-regular-worship-2025/
Chairing difficult meetings
Tuesday 18th March, 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Venue: Christchurch, Brownsover
Sometimes we anticipate that a particular meeting will be difficult; sometimes a challenge blows up unexpectedly. One way or the other, chairing difficult meetings is an inevitable feature of Christian leadership.
This interactive session will enable participants to: explore the elements and dynamics of difficult meetings; understand key tools and skills that enable difficult meetings to become effective, and practice tools and skills to chair difficult meetings using scenarios.
This training will be provided by mediation specialists from ‘Place for Hope’, Coventry Diocese’s training partner for mediation and reconciliation.
Who is this session for? Clergy, Lay Chairs & Lay Leaders
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/chairing-difficult-meetings-2025/
Community Engagement
Tuesday 8th April, 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Venue: St Peter’s, Wellesbourne
We all want to engage with our communities, yet is this harder than it sounds? During this workshop we will consider several questions: What do we mean by community engagement? Who and where are our communities? Do we have more than one community? Where do we start...who are our volunteers... do we have the skills...do they even want us! And crucially where do we get the money from?
In this session, led by Linda MacDermott, we will each bring and share our knowledge, thoughts, questions and experience.
Who is this session for? Clergy & Lay Leaders
Equip Hub link: https://www.equiphub.org.uk/courses-events-and-resources/community-engagement-2025/
Reconciliation Pathway
Journeying from a fractured past towards a shared future.
The diocese has recently opened a training Pathway for those interested and called to reconciliation focused ministry and mission. This Pathway – co-led by Emma Crick-de-Boom and the Coventry Cathedral team – has the same structure as the Lay Training Pathways already on offer, and is also consciously designed to serve to clergy as well as lay leaders.
The individual courses and training events that make up the pathway can all be booked through Equip Hub, as is the case for all our Pathway learning and training. If you are interested in following the full Pathway, please contact Rob.Harrison@Coventry.Anglican.Org
There will be no charge for clergy or Readers following the Pathway – please contact Rob Harrison to receive a voucher code.