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#Everyday Faith‘Taking small steps and achieving one degree shifts’ Caroline Pascoe

What’s #Everyday Faith all about, and what is the link with Setting God’s People Free? ‘Setting God’s People Free is an initiative across the

Church of England to enable the whole people of God to live out the Good News of Jesus confidently in all of life, Sunday to Saturday…

Our focus is to facilitate a shift in culture, not a narrow, centrally driven strategy. The programme seeks to implement proposals from the Setting God’s People Free report presented to General Synod in 2017. These proposals seek effective ways to build up the whole people of God, with a confident faith and vision for the Kingdom of God, which is lived out in homes, schools, communities and places of work.’

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What’s #Everyday Faith all about, and what is the link with Setting God’s People Free? • In other words, the focus on #Everyday Faith comes

out of the SGPF report. The aim is to help people feel more confident about their faith when they are not gathered together in churches on Sundays.

• THIS IS NOT A NEW IDEA! But the fact is that there are plenty of Christians who are ‘dispersed’ or ‘scattered’ across our diocese Monday to Saturday and who do not feel confident about their faith and there are easy steps we can all take to support them/us.

Small Steps Suggestion 1: BE CURIOUS

• Changing our conversations is one of the quickest ways to change the direction of our culture. This can all start with us being more curious and interested in each other’s lives away from church gatherings and unconnected to church roles.

• E.g. After a church service, over coffee, initiate conversations with people to find out what is happening in their Monday-Saturday lives.

• Why? It shows that we are aware of what each other is doing away from church, and provides an opportunity to offer prayer and support

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Small Steps Suggestion 2: Visit People in Context

• Visiting a church member in their workplace, at the project where they volunteer, or the college canteen, is a powerful way to encourage a culture of everyday faith. Anyone can be involved in visiting, not only clergy and lay ministers, and you also don’t need an excuse!

Small Steps Suggestion 3: Sunday praying for Monday to Saturday living• Our regular intercessions are the most obvious

moment for praying for people in particular sectors, week by week, or for occupations or school activities that people in your church are in.

• Think about it: so often our prayers are for people who are unwell, bereaved or in some kind of difficulty. We could be praying more for Christians in our congregations who are well, and want to feel supported in their secular ministries

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Small Steps Suggestion 4: This Time Tomorrow

• This Time Tomorrow is an interview with someone in a congregation in a Sunday or midweek service, for two or three minutes, about where they will be this time tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be people in big jobs and, to begin with, probably shouldn’t. Make sure you include children and young people, too. TTT is a small step than really does make a big difference.

Small Steps Suggestion 5: Notice Boards

• Notice boards tell the congregation and visitors what’s seen to be important. What’s there? Information about church-based activities? Always. Information about mission activities and partners? Sometimes. Why not include a map of where the congregation spend time during the week? And get people involved to help provide pictures and prayer points.

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Small Steps Suggestion 6: Commissioning people

• Many churches commission people for ministries in the church but it’s enormously powerful to also commission people for ‘ministries’ beyond the church: for people changing jobs, or taking up new responsibilities in the community, or starting the school or university year, or moving into retirement.

Small Steps Suggestion 7: Preaching

• If you’re involved in preaching, be deliberate in thinking through and connecting with the everyday contexts of your listeners. Most people are involved in preaching as those hearing sermons. Our feedback can also be helpful. When someone makes a relevant link to everyday faith that has made a difference, encourage them with this insight!

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What are your Monday-Saturday #Everyday Faith contexts or ‘frontlines of faith’? • We all have roles we can appreciate as

service. Duties we can see God gives that are beneficial to others and society – as a friend, parent or sibling; as a tenant support worker, crucial supply chain link, baker or banker... God calls us to a wide variety of roles, but what is it about you, about the way that God is forming you, that really shines?

Further Steps:

• Did you know: If you are in one of the following parishes you are already engaged in promoting #Everyday Faith: Bodenham, Marden, Sutton St Nicholas, Canon Pyon, Kings Pyon, Wellington, Westhope & Birley, Dorrington, Leebotwood, Longnor, Smethcote, Stapleton and Woolsaston, , Condover, Ryton, Acton Burnell, Frodesely and Pitchford, Great Hanwood, Longden & Annscroft, Pulverbatch

Talk to your Priest/PCC if it’s not obvious!

• Resources & Website: This Time Tomorrow cards and 7 steps booklet – see Jo/Kate if you would like copies. Setting God’s People Free section on www.churchofengland.org

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Small group discussions:

1. What are your own Everyday faith contexts? E.g. voluntary work, childcare, job, hobbies

2. What are your churches already doing to support congregation members in their Monday-Saturday Christian living?

3. Which of the 7 steps could you implement in your own church context?