Almost 40 people in groupsfrom Cradley Heath, Offenham, Ombersley and Worester have received a specialcertificate from the Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge, marking the completionof a course designed to help them relate their Christian faith to their ownlife and locality.
The groups took the BishopsCertificate course over 12 months with the support of local tutors. It coveredsubjects such as Christian faith and the Creeds, the Old and New Testaments,Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, discipleship and living as Christians withpeople of other faiths.
Bishop John addressed thecandidates before presenting them with their certificates. He offered congratulationsto all those receiving certificates as well as thanking the tutors. He said: Thiscourse is not just about learning facts for no reason, but about having thewisdom to understand how those facts affect our lives. I hope that what you havelearnt has given you a thirst to know more as well as a true spirit ofenlightenment about Gods love.
Pippa Heenan is a member of InkberrowChurch and completed the course with the group in Offenham. She said: Iabsolutely loved the course. It took me on a theological journey which was muchdeeper and broader than I expected and I learnt about other religions their similaritiesand differences to Christianity. We had an amazing leader in Philip Morton andas a group we all encouraged each other to push our learning further.
Angela Fletcher is fromFeckenham and was part of the group in Ombersley. She said: The course wasreally interesting. It was great to meet a new group of people who were all atdifferent stages of our Christian journey. I enjoyed the discipline of studyingagain and particularly enjoyed the section about the New Testament.
Brian Turner is a member of StPeters Church in West Bromwich and completed the course with the group inCradley Heath. He said: Ive been a Christian since the age of five, but feltI was lacking in my knowledge of scripture and wanted to understand more. Thecourse was enlightening and I particularly enjoyed the practical sessions onsymbolism and Christian art. Our group was also a real gift people came froma range of different churches so there was a multitude of thoughts and views.
Sue Bateman from St. John inBedwardine Church was a part of the Worcester group. She said: It wasbrilliant. I knew the content of the course before starting but I learnt somuch more. It has definitely strengthened my faith I found out things aboutthe bible that I didnt know and learnt lots of things that helped validate myfaith and move it to a deeper level. There was also a lot of fun, laughter andcake and Sarah Cottrill was a great leader!
See more pictures from the service
ENDS
The Diocese of Worcester is one of 42 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.
From: Sam Setchell, Press Officer for the Diocese of Worcester and the Bishop of Worcester.
Tel: 01905 20537 Mobile: 07852 302516
Email: ssetchell@cofe-worcester.org.uk
