Bishops' Study Day 2025

A Promise of Peace – Finding Hope in God’s Creation

Join us for a prayerful and practical seminar exploring how faith in the Creator inspires hope and action in the face of environmental change. Through stories from churches across London and beyond, we’ll discover how communities are reimagining worship, buildings, and outreach to reflect God’s promise for creation.

Together, we’ll reflect on moving from materialism to stewardship, asking:

• Where do we find hope in a time of unprecedented environmental change?
• How can our human action and our community engagement reflect God’s promise?
• What might our churches — and our world — look like in 2050 if we live as disciples of hope today?

Come and be encouraged, challenged, and renewed in your love for God’s creation — and in your desire to live out the hope of the risen Christ in the heart of your community.

Jack Edwards serves as the Diocesan Environmental Officer, drawing together a background in psychology (BA) and theology, ecology, and ethics (MA) to help churches respond faithfully to the challenges of climate and creation care. Formed deeply by Ignatian spirituality, he has lived in Jesuit community and serves as a trustee of Jesuit Missions, as well as a member of the steering group for the Jesuit Young Adult Ministries in London.
Jack has worked across the Dioceses of Southwark and London, supporting parishes to integrate environmental stewardship into worship, discipleship, and mission. Inspired by Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’, he brings a passionate conviction that caring for creation is central to our vocation as followers of Christ and to the hope we proclaim.

Communal Practices for Deepening Discipleship

Two years on from the launch of our diocesan Communal Practices (practices.wayoflife.london), these sessions offer a chance to experience two practices first-hand and hear how they nurture discipleship in community.
These practices invite us into a gentler rhythm: from the individual to the shared, from thinking to embodied experience, from one-off encounters to ways of being that endure.
They open space to listen for God together and to let faith take root in daily life.

MORNING SESSION – Dwelling in the Word
Come and spend time dwelling in God’s word together. We will explore and experience Dwelling in the Word, a practice of reflecting on Scripture together that nurtures listening and communal discernment. We will hear a local story of how this practice has shaped the life of a church community, and consider how it might nurture deeper discipleship where you are. Whether you’re new to the practices or revisiting them, this is a chance to deepen your awareness of God’s presence through shared listening and engagement with Scripture.

AFTERNOON SESSION – Shared Silence
Come and join us for a time of Shared Silence, a simple yet profound practice of gathered prayer that invites us to rest together in God’s presence. We will hear a local story of how this practice has shaped the life of a church community, and consider how it might nurture deeper discipleship where you are. There is no right or wrong way to take part, this is simply an opportunity to pause, be still, and discover the gift of shared presence before God.

Mirjam Ngoy-Verhage is Discipleship Enabler for the Diocese of London, supporting communities in deepening faith and spiritual formation (www.wayoflife.london). 

Fostering Vocations – Lay and Ordained

How do you identify and grow vocations of all kinds within the church context? What does a Licenced Lay Minister actually do? What is the new Shared Discernment process all about?
Come and find out about vocations in London Diocese both lay and ordained. Explore how you can foster vocations in a new way in your church and develop those in your congregation

The Revd Beki Rogers is the Principal of the St Edmund’s Courses, leading Lay Discipleship training for the Diocese of London, including the Bishop’s Certificate in Christian Studies and the Licensed Lay Ministry Course. A trained Spiritual Director with extensive mentoring experience, she and her husband, Cris, lead All Hallows, Bow in East London, where they live with their two children and two other housemates. In her spare time, Beki enjoys creative pursuits like building with Lego, crocheting, knitting, and exploring writing.

The Revd Nicki Sudworth is Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Vocations, working across all Areas supporting candidates and ordinands as they discern a calling to ministry. Nicki liaises with the national team, advises on DDO practice and is hugely excited to see people step into what God is planning for them. Married to Tim, vicar of Oak Tree Anglican Fellowship in Acton, she loves holding the children’s work in church, reading and exploring the amazing food venues of London. She can regularly be found drooling over cheese in Borough market.

Embodied Bodies: Racial justice in parish life

“If we are to honour the divine in us, may it be this divinity—fully embodied, fully dignified in the body.” – Cole Arthur Riley
A seminar on racial justice led by Bishop Anderson Jeremiah, Dr Lisa Adjei, and the Deans of Racial Justice.

Hope is My Song

A reflective and participatory workshop weaving poetry, music, and song into a shared meditation on hope. Together with musicians from the Hackney and Islington Project, we’ll explore how creative expression becomes prayer, resistance, and renewal; discovering hope’s melody within and among us.

Journeys of hope

Advent is a journey towards the celebration of new birth.  This workshop draws on practical resources to help churches reach new people in new and renewed ways with the love of Christ. What journeys of hope are we preparing for this advent?

The Revd H Miller has been engaged in church planting and supporting ministry leaders for more than 30 years. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) and has been Associate Vicar of St Barnabas Kensington for the past 10 years. Originally from the United States and Canada, he relocated to the UK in 2015.

The Revd Phil Hoyle is the Pioneer Enabler for London at CCX and host of Pioneer School, a training partnership with Church Mission Society. Phil has been involved in missional church leadership for over 25 years and is a trained life coach and educator.

Signs of Hope: What Generation Z think about God and Faith

A chance to hear from Laura Hancock from Youth for Christ, Author of Z-A: Growing Spirituality. The report presents a compelling exploration of how spirituality is emerging among young people beyond the walls of the church. Drawing on research rooted in the experiences of those not actively engaged in congregational life, this report challenges clergy to rethink discipleship, recognising the Spirit’s work in unexpected places and inviting the church to respond with openness, humility, and renewed vision.

After hearing about the report there will be a short panel discussion, including youth workers from a range of tradition and then a chance to ask questions.

Sam Donoghue is the Head of Children & Youth Ministry Support at the Diocese of London.