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You might also like to download a copy of this Leader's Guide by clicking here.

 

This Leader’s Guide covers:

  1. Quick view of Session Questions

  2. Course Resources and Recommendations

  3. Tips for leaders including online conferencing

  4. FAQs

  5. Telephone Support

     

    QUICK VIEW OF SESSION QUESTIONS

       

      Session 1 Welcoming Communities

      INTRODUCTION

      • What is your experience of our Celtic past?
      • How can it benefit us today?

      Part 1 FORMING COMMUNITIES

      • How do people feel unconditionally welcomed by your church?
      • What can your community do better to help people belong and believe?

      Part 2 COMMUNITIES OF LOVE AND MERCY

      • How do people experience your community as an oasis of love and mercy?
      • What can your church do to meet the many needs of our post-pandemic society?

      Part 3 GROWING CHRIST TOGETHER

      • Do people of all backgrounds feel integrated in your church?
      • How can we become more connected to each other in faith?

       

      Session 2 Growing in Faith

      Part 1 THE POWER OF SIMPLICITY

      • Are you living from a full well or are you often running on empty?
      • Where could you find a hermit place to regularly spend quality time with God?

      Part 2 A RHYTHM OF FAITH

      • Is our faith fully integrated or is it compartmentalised?
      • What can we do to experience God in every part of our daily life?

      Part 3 THE FIRE OF FAITH

      • Is Jesus relevant and a real support in your daily struggles?
      • How can we practically help others to experience God's love personally?

       

      Session 3 Life in the Holy Spirit

      Part 1 HOLY SPIRIT ADVENTURES

      • How are we too settled in our Christianity and what can make us braver in faith?
      • How can we be more open to the presence and prompting of the Spirit?

      Part 2 GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

      • What gifts do women bring to the life and mission of your church?
      • How can we be more open to the creative power of the Spirit in order to be relevant?

      Part 3 EVERYDAY LIFE

      • In what ways are you expectant of the biblical activity of the Holy Spirit today?
      • How can our communities help others to have a deeper encounter with the Holy Spirit?

       

      Session 4 God’s Creation

      Part 1 MEETING GOD IN CREATION

      • How can we be better stewards of the beautiful gift of Creation?
      • In what ways can we experience more of God's presence in nature?

      Part 2 RESPECTING CREATION

      • How can we help people care for God's creatures in a Celtic way?
      • How can we help others to be more environmentally responsible?

      Part 3 OUR RESPONSE

      • How can we be inspired by our Celtic past to live more simply today?
      • In what ways can our communities help young people to meet God in nature?

       

      Session 5 Love in action

      Part 1 CELTIC MISSION

      • How can we reach out to people with their many needs and fears?
      • What good news are we sharing with people and how can it help?

      Part 2 SOCIAL CARE

      • Are we really open to God sending us to challenging places in our neighbourhoods?
      • How does our Celtic past challenge us to be more caring for the poor?

      Part 3 OUR STRATEGY TODAY

      • How does Aidan inspire you to have a more pastoral heart for mission?
      • Is there zeal to evangelise in your DNA and how can you increase it?

       

      Some parishes leave the questions until the end of the film. It does not matter if some questions do not get covered. For timings of the sessions please see the FAQs below.

       

       

      COURSE RESOURCES AND RECOMMENDATIONS


         

        Our recommended reading ‘Restoring the Woven Cord’ by Michael Mitton is an inspirational and easy-to-read book which takes 15 leading figures from our Celtic past and shares something of their fascinating stories.

        We come to see their burning love for the Bible, their depth of prayer, their radical commitment to the poor and to caring for creation.

        Reflecting on their lives and works, we can find powerful inspiration for our own walk with God and rich resources for the ministry of local churches and communities.

        The author Canon Michael Mitton is a well-known writer, speaker and spiritual director who has a passionate interest in the relevance and wisdom of our Celtic past.

        Single copies of the book are £10 each (plus minimal p&p) and discounts are available on orders of 10 or more copies. Simple online ordering here or with an invoice by calling 0845 050 9428.

         

        During the talks other books and filmed courses are recommended, details of these can be accessed here.

        An A5 Flyer is available for downloading and printing by clicking here.  Your local printer may be willing to add details of time, dates, and place of the course.

        Further CaFE resources can be bought individually or in bulk from the website. Sale or return facilities can be agreed by telephoning 0845 050 9428.

         

        TIPS FOR LEADERS including online conferencing


          This course, aimed at Parish teams and small groups, is intended to be run over 5 sessions although each session can stand alone. The film content in each session lasts for approx. 20 minutes, and the displayed questions can lead to lengthy and practical discussions. The course can be run in a church room, a home or online so this guide has been written with all methods in mind.

          a.  Leading a session

          • Prepare by watching the session input noting particularly where the discussion breaks are, how the film ends, and the course questions for the session (see above)

          • Prepare a session timetable including approximate times for discussion breaks

          • Start each session by explaining the format to guests

          • Begin with an opening prayer asking for God’s guidance and blessings

          • Finish at the stated time

          • Close with a prayer of thanks and encourage everyone to return to the next session

          b.  Teams running a course for the first time

          • CaFE courses are extremely easy to run as the films do most of the work for you

          • Gather a team of enthusiastic, friendly people to help.

          • Arrange a planning meeting to pray and to share responsibilities

          • Depending on environment, duties can include MC, Set-up, Refreshments, Publicity, IT, Table or Breakout facilitation, Welcoming, Prayer lead, Clearing away, Finance, Book stall

          c.  Tips for session team

          • Pray together before the course, and ask potential attendees to pray also

          • Pray individually throughout the course

          • Plan the course together

          • Prepare publicity well in advance

          • Invite people personally

          • Be welcoming and greet people on arrival

          • Introduce guests to one another

          • Plan to follow up the course and publicise it

           d.  Hospitality when not online – CaFE style

          • Presentation and environment are important

          • CaFE style creates a relaxed environment and naturally forms small groups for sharing

          • Consider tablecloths, flowers and candles as a means of valuing the participants

          • Have a team of welcomers to chat to people and help newcomers feel at ease

          • Check the room is warm, with quiet music on arrival. CaFE have music resources available

          • Have refreshments, such as tea/coffee/wine/nibbles

          • Ensure that everyone can see and hear the presentation

           e.  Small Group Facilitation

          • Prepare beforehand (by prayer, watching the talk if possible, noting the course questions and preparing some open questions to get the discussion started)

          • Guide the discussion sensitively

          • Help others to explore their thoughts and feelings

          • Be inclusive and give everyone an opportunity to speak

          • Ask open ended, general questions

          • Admit if you do not know an answer to a question but be willing to find out before the next meeting

          • Look out for people who may be able to help run future courses

           f.  Publicising your courses

          • Time your publicity to maximum effect

          • Give people enough notice to put dates in their busy diaries and to get a sense of anticipation

          • Use the eye-catching flyers available from the CaFE website. Local printers can produce glossy versions of flyers and expand to create posters. Consider where flyers and posters might have the greatest effect.

          • Make a short presentation at Church about the course. Choose someone who can convey the message clearly. If possible, ask someone who has benefitted from a similar course to share their story. Stress that the courses are fun as well as informative

          • Create an event of your parish and social media websites

          • The most effective way to encourage attendance is by personal invitation

           g.  ONLINE PRESENTATION using conferencing apps such as Zoom etc.

          • Many parishes have chosen Zoom and report it working well. We are advised that it is more easily accessible or more widely used than some other options. Whichever service you chose, check the film runs in sync with the audio when being shared.

          • Free versions have limited time allocations but do not have breakout rooms

          • Purchased versions give unlimited meeting time, can charge around £15 pcm and bring added features and functionality such as breakout rooms

          • CaFE courses come with written consent for the content to be privately streamed within the parish to protect CaFE’s copyright

          • Once the conferencing link has been created, share that by email with attendees who have registered. This can be done ahead of the meeting time and as a timely reminder on the day

          • Check your content is playable in MP4 format and test the running of the film with another team member elsewhere before the meeting

          • It is worth running a WhatsApp team group to share any issues between team members

          • Open the meeting online and accept invitees. Then conduct all the opening activity such as welcoming, explaining the session plan, and prayer

          • When ready for the film, click ‘share screen’ and select ‘video’ remembering to tick the box for sharing computer sound

          • When the film ends, stop the screen share. Don’t forget to have the session questions to hand

          • If the attendee numbers are small, you may not need to break out

          • You may need to give instructions about the use of ‘Mute’ and when to ‘Unmute’ so we don’t talk over each other especially during communal prayer

          • If you use break out rooms, planning beforehand allows you to group the right people

          • Ending breakouts occurs by send a scheduled on-screen message which returns people to the original meeting, the final comments and prayer

          • After attendees leave, you may find that a good moment for team feedback on any urgent issues.

           

          FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


            The CaFE website is updated with general FAQs click here.

             

            Q. Can this resource work in a Divine Renovation parish?

            A. "At Divine Renovation we often talk about how people need to belong to a community before they are invited to believe through a living personal faith. CaFE invites us to explore how this model applied in the communities of our ancient Christian roots. This is a fascinating resource which will be a help to parishes as they work to become communities where people can belong first, and then believe." Hannah Vaughan-Spruce, Executive Director - UK, Divine Renovation.

             

            Q. Do I need to break and ask the questions as they appear?

            A. No, an alternative method adopted by some parishes has been to offer teas/coffees, then lead with the opening prayer, explain that the course was made during lockdown and show the whole film including questions without stopping. Then after screening the film, with the questions printed as table handouts, allow discussions, hold a plenary of table points, listening for Spirit-filled comment and general trends. Ending with intercessory prayer helps build faith and grow community. The recommended course book can be offered at the end of each session to fill any hunger for detail about the Celtic Saints. As for timing of each session, 10 mins for social teas/coffee (slightly more if providing a meal), 5 mins for prayer and introduction, about 16 mins for the film, 45 mins for discussion, 10 mins for plenary, 5 mins for intercessions and closing.

             

            TELEPHONE SUPPORT


              This is available weekdays between 9am and 5pm on 0845 050 9428. An answerphone will record messages if the office is busy or closed. We aim to return all calls that day or the next working day.

              We would also love your feedback. Did this course help and how? You can either ring on the above office number or email feedback to info@faithcafe.org