Last facilitator training dates for Living in Love and Faith (LLF) now available for people to run groups before the feedback period closes this April.
The diocese training dates are 25 January, 26 January, and 3 February.
Commissioned and led by the Bishops of the Church of England, LLF is about encouraging the whole church to think more deeply about identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage.
This national conversation will draw to a close by 30 April 2022, which means that there is still time for groups to start the five-session course and give feedback to the national team. Parishes and groups will of course be able to run the LLF course post-April for their own growth and learning.
Since the official Diocese of Bristol LLF launch in May 2021, the diocese has trained 79 facilitators and 21 chaplains, and over 300 people have so far completed or are participating in an LLF course in the diocese. We have also filmed and uploaded interviews with four people across the diocese who have engaged with the course to encourage others to take part. On Wednesdays each week there are two opportunities to pray for LLF – a lunchtime Zoom prayer meeting and a five-minute Stop and Pray ‘where you are’ in the evening.
General Synod will engage with LLF when it meets in July, and processes of discernment and decision-making will continue during 2022 and into the beginning of 2023.
Once the national consultation period ends in April, there will be an intensive period of analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, and a report will be produced for discussion and reflection at General Synod. Initial engagement with the findings will start this year at General Synod meetings in July and the College of Bishops, and engagement will continue into 2023 before any outcomes are reached.