Resourcing community rhythms
Creating Community Rhythms
In this first section there are two workshops / courses designed to help churches think through how they could create their own community rhythms. These are supplemented with two case studies from Hazelnut Community Farm and St Paul's, Southville giving insights into how they have designed and integrated Rhythms of Life in a local Church context. If you would like advice or help in creating a local church rhythm of life please email the Adviser for Parish Discipleship and Evangelism
Workshop option 1
This is a five session course with worksheets, kindly adapted with permission from the Diocese of London, which can be used either as a framework for a Day workshop, or as the basis for a Lent Course. Click on the button for the course and the worksheets can be downloaded using the drop down menu below.
Discerning a Rhythm of Life for the Local Church
Workshop option 2
Adapted from the Diocese of York this option offers a choice of worksheets enabling churches to work through different areas of life and ministry. Use the drop down menu to download and print worksheets.
Growing together / serving others - Love
Growing together / serving others - Worship
"This Toolkit is designed to help your church in a process of discernment, reflecting on what we already do well in enabling our community to grow in these aspects of faith, as well as prayerfully thinking about future opportunities to grow and develop in these areas together. This process will take time, and prayer. You might want to do this as a quiet day, offering plenty of space for reflection, grounded in prayer and worship. It also might be that you want to reflect on this over a longer period of time, looking at two or three of the parts of the Rhythm of Life, then returning to look at the remaining parts on another occasion. The key is to take this at the pace which suits you and your church. At the end of the process, you may wish to discern three priorities to take forward, which you can make a note of on the last page.
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” John 15" from the Diocese of York Website.
Learning from the experience of others
Hazelnut Community Farm have graciously shared the process that they followed in creating their own community rhythm of life for their local church context. Use the button for an overview of the way they went about creating a community rhythm and the drop down below gives access to documents that reveal the outcomes and learning.
Hazelnut Rhythm of Life Process
Appendix 1 Listening to your Life
Appendix 2 Draft Rhythm of Life
Appendix 3 Developing the Rhythm of Life
Appendix 4 Hazelnut Rhythm of Life
Integrating our Rhythm of Life into the Life of the Church Bryony Davis reflects on how Hazelnut have woven their Rhythms of Life into the structure of Church life.
Antioch Community
Members of St Paul's, Southville established a local community, called the Antioch Community, which created a pattern to help members develop their own rhythms of life:
Rhythm of Life Guidelines from the Antioch Community
Resources for use within the Local Parish
Lent Course
The Diocese of Gloucester have a downloadable Lent Course which can be printed in colour or black and white, backed up by videos on their website.
Shapes for Living - Lent course from Gloucester Diocese
Confirmation and Baptism
The bishops encourage those who come for Confirmation to develop their own Rhythm of Life as part of their confirmation preparation. Candidates will have the opportunity to share what their Rhythm of Life looks like with the Bishops when booking in for a confirmation service.
You may already have ideas about how to prepare candidates to create their own Rhythms of Life, but we have also developed some standalone modules which you can use or adapt as part of a local confirmation preparation course.
Confirmation Module for younger teenagers
Confirmation Module for older teenagers and adults
Prayers for use on different occasions as part of a community Rhythm of Life
Other Parish Meetings - includes prayers for use in fabric, mission, eco and youth committees, etc.