Study Groups 2025

Study groups will run for 4-6 week sessions. Some require purchase of a text, most

available in print or as e-book.

Offerings will be adjusted according to demand, with both mid-week day time and

evening groups.

March – April Lenten Study

Life Balance: Five Sessions for Lent on ‘Work, Rest and Play’

by Robert Warren & Sue Mayfield

Commencing week of 2 March 2025 Day and evening offerings

5 weeks (week of Ash Wednesday – Holy Week)

Text available in print and as an e-book

https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/books/9780715142776/lifebalance

21st century living is hectic. Getting the right ‘life balance’ between rest, work and play

seems almost impossible. In five interactive sessions, Life Balance aims to help groups

explore how to build Sabbath time into the crazy pressures of everyday life, and how

‘Sabbath attitudes’ can transform the way we spend our time.

May – June

The Heart of it All: The Bible’s Big Picture

by Samuel Wells

Commencing week of 4 May 2025 Evening offering – 6 sessions

Samuel Wells simplifies the Bible’s complexity and presents the

entire sweep of its narrative in eighteen key themes. Although its

contents range from history to poetry, law, narrative, letters and

even apocalyptic literature, at the Bible’s heart are relationships

between God, creation, Jesus, the Church, the Spirit and the

Kingdom. Samuel Wells argues that this provides a lens through

which the whole Bible can be understood. Rooted in the best of

contemporary biblical theology and scholarship, The Heart of It All

will deepen understanding of the Bible and increase confidence in reading it.

Text is available in print and as an e-book

https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786222251/the-heart-of-it-all

July – August

The Anglican Story: from Ancient and Medieval Origins to

Reformation and Anglican Communion

5 sessions commencing week of 20 July

Did Henry VIII really start the Church of England? Can you tell a

Caroline divine from a Non-Juror, a High Churchman from a

Tractarian? This course explores the events, people and places that

have shaped contemporary Anglicanism, from St Alban and Roman

Briton and the Celtic church, Thomas Becket, Julian of Norwich and

Henry VIII, to the Caroline Divines, Richard Hooker, the Evangelical

Revival, Oxford Movement, the British Empire and Anglican

Spirituality. This is a course rich in history, theology, spirituality,

architecture, liturgy, music and the occasional burning at the stake.

Materials provided – no set text

September – October

Life is For Giving: Exploring Your Calling

by Andy Rider & Jo Bailey Wells

Commencing week of 14 September

Text available from Church House Publishing: chpublishing.co.uk

Vocation is not just for clergy – it is for all the baptised. Choosing

what to give our life to can be complex and a difficult decision.

Today we are often overwhelmed with choice. Life is for Giving will

help you hear God’s voice speaking through your history, your

present reality, your identity and the community you are a part of,

uncovering ways in which God is already shaping you, and

opening you to hear his voice speaking directly to your heart. It

explores how our past shapes us, how to understand our identity,

and how God speaks to us. Each reflection is accompanied by

actions to help you explore your vocation to the full.

Double O)ering: April & November

This is My Faith

by Douglas Dales

Series 1 Commencing week of 28 April 2025

Series 2 Commencing week of 2 November

Arranged in three parts: “Becoming a Christian”,

“Belonging to God” and “Belonging to the Church”, this

is a four-week programme aimed at people who are new

to Christian faith or curious and exploring, wanting to

know more. Topics covered: What is a Christian; Baptism;

Learning to Pray; Reading the Bible; Spiritual Growth;

Beliefs; Why be a Christian?