Overview: Speaking Up for Creation. Keynote Speaker: Using Our Voices for Creation, led by Polly Eaton, Eco Diocese Officer, Eco Church, A Rocha UK. Please bring your own lunch, reusable cup and water bottle. Hot and cold drinks, cake and biscuits provided. Hearing loop, disabled access and facilities. Agenda: 9.30 Registration and Refreshments 10.00 Worship led by Rev Buff Forbes Stone, Rev Zoe Eborn and Young People from St Peter’s 10.35 Using our Voices For Creation: Polly Eaton Eco Church 11.15 Coffee Break 11.45 Workshop 1 12.30 Lunch Break 1.30 Workshop 2 2.15 Comfort break 2.25 Workshop 3 3.10 Tea Break 3.30 Final Session, blessing and depart. Organiser - Rev Buff Forbes Stone, Diocesan Environment Officer. environment.officer@chichester.anglican.org 07954 652824. Register and refreshments from 9.30am for 10.00am start. Choose 3 of 8 Workshops: 1. Working with Climate Stewards: Gareth Martin, Chair of Climate Stewards Trustees and Net Zero Carbon Officer, Chichester Diocese 2. Net Zero Buildings: Brian Kilkelly, Net Zero Carbon Officer for Schools, Chichester Diocese 3. Race, Climate, and Survival: Vitalis Ngwambi, Researcher and Diocesan Racial Justice Co-Ordinator, Chichester Diocese. 4. Helping Your Church Talk About Climate: Amber Jackson, Communications Officer, Chichester Diocese. 5. Going for Gold Workshop: Polly Eaton, Eco Diocese Officer, A Rocha. 6. St Nicholas Children's Home - an African environmental reality: Peter Schofield and Lionel Whatley, Trustees of Friends of St Nicholas Children’s Centre, Nakuru, Kenya. 7. Why we should care about Rivers, Seas and Ocean: Gonzalo Alvarez, United Nations Association UK Oceanographer. 8. Meditative Walk round St Peter’s Churchyard: Barbara Echlin, Green Christian Vice Chair, Rev’d Zoe Eborn, Curate at St Peter’s Bexhill. How do you want to get there? By Road: Church Street is opposite the Manor Barn Car Park which RingGo Code: 15626, price £6.75 over 4 hours. (postcode for your satnav is TN40 2HA) in De la Warr Road. By Rail: Bexhill Railway Station lies between Eastbourne and Hastings. Turn left when leaving the station booking office, cross the road toward St. Mary Magdalen RC Church and then walk up for 10 mins to the top of the hill or catch the bus for one stop. The station bus stop lies to the right of the station when leaving the booking hall. By Bus: Stagecoach buses numbers 98/99 run past Church Street with very convenient stops very near. The 99 Bus runs three times an hour in either direction and the 98 bus runs half hourly.

As part of the Year of Matthew seminars, Chichester Diocese. Led by Dr Ian Boxall. Matthew’s stories of Jesus’ ancestry, birth, escape from a tyrannical ruler and return to his homeland (Matt 1-2), have shaped the Christian imagination across the centuries, leaving a footprint in preaching, hymnody, art, and Christian discipleship. This seminar will explore how this multilayered infancy narrative functions in Matthew’s Gospel, and consider examples of its rich reception, including by visual artists, and the significance of these stories for us today. Zoom detail will be confirmed nearer the date.

things in the environment

Focal Ministry and Anglican Ecclesiology: Re-imagining Parish Ministry in a Mixed Economy Church. Focal Ministry has emerged within the Church of England as a response to changing patterns of parish life, declining clergy numbers, and the development of a mixed economy church. This seminar explores Focal Ministry through the lens of Anglican ecclesiology, asking how it correlates and reshapes understandings of parish, priesthood and presence. Drawing on theology and practice, it considers whether Focal Ministry represents a departure from traditional ecclesiological structures, or a deeper reimagining of inherited models for contemporary Anglicanism.

• The new ecumenical feast of God the Creator in Christ. This seminar will present the theological rationale for the feast and will introduce the new prayers and selection of biblical readings that the Church of England will provide for us to celebrate the feast. Led by Christopher Irvine - a member of the Assisi Conference working group and a consultant to the Liturgical Commission. Zoom detail will be circulated nearer the event.

There is an old saying that “you cannot create a first impression twice”, and so it is with any community, any parish. A visitor’s or a new parishioner’s view of the community around them is significantly shaped by the presence or absence of a welcoming atmosphere when they enter a church for the first time. Although the Ministry of Welcome, extends to all members of the community, a special responsibility falls on those who have come forward, or feel called, for this Ministry – very often the first people that a stranger will meet or speak to when entering the church for the first time – and you cannot create a first impression twice. Come and join this session to learn through sharing and fellowship how we can ensure a warm and "safe" welcome to all who enter our churches, whether new or seasoned church members - both in a practical and spiritual way. All are welcome! Please bring your own lunch. Led by Hazel Pudney, Warden for Lay Ministry ALM (Worship & Liturgy) and Churchwarden at Holy Trinity Church, Bosham.

The Reverend Nathanael Hayler, Rector of Winchelsea, Icklesham and Pett, explores the lives, spiritual practices and legacy of the early saints of the British Isles whose tenacity and faith helped shape Christianity in this land. Through figures such as Aidan, Hilda and Bede, we’ll consider how holiness was lived out and how evangelisation was practised in the Anglo-Saxon world. We will reflect on how the legacy of these early saints continues to speak into the Church and our own spiritual practices today.

This event is for Readers, ALMs, Licensed Apostolic Workers, Church Army Evangelists and similar roles. As the Diocese of Chichester enters the Year of Mark with Advent 2026, we gather to celebrate the vital role of lay ministry in the life of the Church. Speakers include: Belinda Ramsay, Children and Families Advisor; The Revd Jamie Gater, Deputy Diocesan Director of Ordinands; The Revd Arwen Folkes, Vicar of St Mary's Eastbourne and The Revd Felix Smith, Associate Director of Leading your Church into Growth.This occasion invites us to reflect, renew, and be inspired to serve with hope, courage, and joy

The Archdeacon of Hastings, the Venerable Russell Dewhurst, speaks on the Church of England and the state. Since Elizabeth I, the monarch has been known as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. But what exactly is the King’s role in the Church of England today?

Greg Moore takes a joyful wander through the story of carols—the music of Advent and Christmas—and how it came to sound the way it does. Christmas music pops up everywhere in English life: in churches and on street corners, in pubs, classrooms, and living rooms. It’s packed with memories, traditions, faith, and fun, telling stories that bring people together with warmth, hope, and a sense of belonging.