The Diocese in Europe’s lay learning course ‘Walking Together in Faith’ is back for a second year, starting in September, so don’t delay in signing up. 

The course consists of four modules, each with five sessions. 

Module One, ‘Knowing God’, explores prayer, taking the Lord's Prayer as our starting point, and asks what it meant to pray this fundamental Christian prayer in the time of Jesus and what it means today. 

There are two ways of engaging with the course, either fortnightly online sessions, led by Diocesan Director of Lay Discipleship, Dr Clare Amos, or local in-person small groups*. All participants can choose the level of engagement that suits them. 

Those who complete the whole course and wish to submit work for assessment will be awarded a Bishop's Certificate. The course is free for all participants, but there will be a small cost for anyone working towards the Certificate. 

The online sessions start on the evening of 26 September (Final time to be announced when we know the range of time zones represented in the group). 

Diocesan Director of Lay Discipleship, Dr Clare Amos, who has overseen the development of the course, said: “It has been a privilege and a joy to see how well 'Walking Together in Faith' has been received around the diocese since its launch in September 2021. Last year most of the participants followed it through the online Zoom sessions which were offered, and which brought people together from many parts of the diocese.” 

In person courses 

In addition to the online course beginning in September the plan is that this year there will be quite a few local groups exploring the course material together in person.  If you would like to see such a group in your chaplaincy please talk to your chaplain or churchwardens if you are in a vacancy.” 

A training session for anyone interested in running the course in person will be held on 19 September (time tbc) Please get in touch with Clare Amos Clare.Amos@europe.anglican.org if you are interested. 

If you have already undertaken a course such as Alpha, a confirmation course, or the Church of England Pilgrim course, that will in no way clash with the material in Walking Together in Faith.  This course will encourage further learning and provide a solid foundation for future exploration of ministry in the church. 

How to get involved 

You can take a look at the course by visiting https://europe.learn.anglican.org/, click on a module, and then click 'login as a guest' and put in the password: LayLearning2022. 

To get the most out of the course, participants must register. This will give you access to online webinars, online discussions and other interactive materials. 

Participants who have registered will receive Zoom links for the online course. 

Zoom links will also be sent to anyone wanting to join a training session to lead a local course. 

The Zoom links will be accompanied by a brief explanatory note to help the sessions run smoothly. 

We are grateful for the support of the Benefact Trust (formerly the Allchurches Trust) which has helped to fund the online presentation of the course 

Dates for the diary 

Participants can opt to do the course at their own pace but the first online session for those who have registered to do the course online, led by Dr Amos, will be on the evening of Tuesday 26 September. 

The remaining four sessions for Module One will be fortnightly and will last about 90 minutes. 

*A training session for anyone running a local in-person course will be on 19 September via Zoom. 

For more information contact Polly Freeman, Ministry Team Administrator on polly.freeman@churchofengland.org 

To read more about the course visit the Lay Learning course webpage, or download a registration form here.