We are committed to supporting and developing your ministry.
As a condition of your licence, your Bishop will look for evidence of your commitment to ongoing training and development.
Upcoming Events
Quiet Day: Saturday 5th April 10am – 3pm
St Joseph’s Prayer Centre, Formby
Refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Book you place here
Summer School – June 18th and 25th 7pm – 9pm with Matt Allen
Matt will lead a two part workshop which will focus on ways in which we, as preachers, can refresh and enliven our preaching.
Part One St Luke’s Church, Crosby: Telling great stories and showing real faith.
To include a look at narrative preaching and the use of testimony.
Part Two St Paul’s Church, Goose Green, Wigan: Preaching from the heart to our hearers.
To look at rhetorical skills and preaching without notes (or less reliant on them).
Book your place here
Matt Allen is the Blackburn Centre Lead Tutor at Emmanuel Theological College. He oversees the teaching in Preaching and Practical Theology. Prior to that he was the Director of Training in Blackburn Diocese and has been a parish Priest, including leading an Anglican-Baptist Local Ecumenical Partnership in Accrington. Matt is passionate about helping others develop their gifts for ministry. He is the co-author of The Present Preacher and is the Reviews and Resources Editor for The Preacher magazine. He is in the final stages of completing a doctorate in Homiletics and Practical Theology.
Reader training morning St James House – September 28th 10am – 12
We are delighted that Revd Canon Dr Ellen Loudon will be joining us to talk about how we can share what we have to encourage a new generation to create a movement for positive social change.
Using our Community Assets to make a Bigger Difference.
Ellen will be sharing some reflections on the Feeding of the 5000 – Matthew 14.13-21. How we can learn from the way Jesus used what was available, blessed the resource, shared it out (and there was even some leftover).
Rev Canon Dr Ellen Loudon – biography
I am Canon Chancellor of Liverpool Cathedral and Director of Social Justice for the Diocese of Liverpool. I have a PhD in Music Hall, an MA in pop music, BA in Drama and BA in Theology. Before I was ordained worked in the theatre and was a Senior Lecturer in Drama. I am trustee of a number of charities including Together Liverpool, Micah Liverpool and Liverpool Diocesan Council of Social Aid.
In the middle of lockdown my book 12 Rules for Christian Activists: A Toolkit for Massive Change was published. This book is an introduction to a way of ordering an active Christian life that makes positive change possible in a world that desperately needs difference makers. I have called it a Toolkit for Massive Change because it is my contention that our small deliberate, purposeful acts of social justice, done in the name of Jesus, will transform God’s world.
You can buy the book from Canterbury Press or all good independent bookshops on-line: https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786222442/12-rules-for-christian-activists
Book your place here
Reader Licensing Service September 28th 12.15pm St Brides Church
You are warmly invited to attend our Reader Licensing Service which this year is being held at St Brides Church, 34 Huskisson Street, Liverpool L8 7LT a short walk from St James House.
Bishop Ruth will be licensing James Fleming who will serve as a Reader in the St Luke in the City Team, do come along and support James as he embarks on his new ministry.
Refreshments will be served after the service.
Autumn Study Day at Carmel College, St Helens – November 23rd: Readers and Discipleship a ministry of word and Spirit.
The day will be spent focusing upon the role of scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit in our discipleship journey and how we can stimulate and support other disciples of Jesus in our ministry.
The day will be led by Rev Nick Crawley.
Nick Crawley, who founded Bible for Life, is an Anglican clergyman with over 30 years experience of church leadership in London, Harare (Zimbabwe), Sheffield, and Bristol. He is a qualified Banker and Investment Analyst and was awarded an MA with merit in Christian Theology from the University of Bristol. He holds a Certificate in Mentoring from Anamcara Consulting. He teaches on Discipleship and Spiritual formation at churches and colleges in the UK. He is married to Dr. Lucy Peppiatt the systematic theologian and author, and current Principal of Westminster Theological Centre. They have four sons.
For more information visit – https://bibleforlife.co.uk/about
Book your place here
2026
Quiet Day: Saturday 28th March 2026 10am – 3pm
Bishop Ruth will be leading our Quiet Day at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre, Formby.
Refreshments and lunch will be provided. We will finish the day with the Eucharist
The Prayer Centre is situated in beautiful grounds surrounded by the National Trust nature reserve, in Freshfield on Merseyside, which is also home to the nationally acclaimed red squirrel. Woodland and coastal walks can be taken directly from the centre. The award winning beach and Irish Sea are just 10 minutes’ walk away. On the northwest coast of England our sunsets are some of the most beautiful in the world.
Spacious well-kept grounds surround the centre; and ample parking is available. There is also a peaceful courtyard garden, for a time of quiet reflection.
Our tranquil setting in a peaceful and beautiful location provides a place to pray, space to think and time to meet.
Book you place here.