jonnybaker

street

this last weekend i cycled to paris with a group from amos trust. every year a group cycle over the last may weekend and i think this is now my fourth trip. we clocked up around 280 miles so it was pretty full on (at least for someone like me who doesn't do a lot of cycling!). we stayed in saint denis very near the stade de france. i don't know paris that well but it's clearly a very multicultural quarter - i wondered if it was the equivalent of london's southall? anyway i loved this shot taken on my phone as we wandered to gare saint denis and french africans (i assume) were cooking various skewers over charcoal on shopping trolleys creating smoke in the evening light...

stir

i love stir magazine. there are very few magazines i subscribe to but after seeing a couple of issues of stir i decided it is essential reading and i normally read it cover to cover.

it's a magazine about community economic development and transformation. what i love about it is its energy for change and alternative thinking. it's a great example of future present thinking (watch this space for news on that theme on june 4th!) or the kind of thinking that believes another world is possible. but i also love that it is informed by a very different body of knowledge and skills to what i was taught working in charities in the christian sector. the approaches and instincts fit really well and i think pioneers who get stuck into community change would find it really helpful. you can get a flavour of what it is about through the web site where lots of articles are available free. there is also a toolkit for working with your local community which has some great stuff in it. and they connect to all sorts of ideas and inspiration. for example the blog introduced me to this incredible commons transition primer. the recovery of commons in local communities is a key to the way forward in our society i think.

this area of engagement is something churches have great opportunity to be involved in. one really interesting project that i mentioned before is that stir have seen churches and their communities as assets and have piloted with some churches around helping them set up community enterprises - see here for the process. there is likely to be a conference about it in the autumn once the results of the pilot are published. this process is so similar to what we encourage pioneers to do at cms - listening, mapping the community, discerning opportunities, building stuff together with the community around it and so on - being good news. and if you are near bristol, oxford or london watch this space for a series of workshops you could get involved in. they are currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money for them.

open days for pioneer training next monday and june 12

Pioneer Mission Leadership Training Open Days from Church Mission Society on Vimeo.

come along to a pioneer open day... here's a video grabbed at the last one.

undergraduate courses in pioneer training

Undergraduate Options at Church Mission Society Pioneer Training from Church Mission Society on Vimeo.

a couple of years back we made a video with cathy ross who leads our MA programmes at cms. so we thought it about time to add one with sarah clarke who is now leading the undergraduate programmes and has been a great addition to the team. see here for info on courses

fitting in is over rated

i am not sure if i have posted about our new prospectus for pioneer training which is remiss of me. it turns out we were on the same page with our strapline as the film i tonya - make of that what you will! it's pretty contentful but hopefully visually interesting - several of the photos are mine. there have been various arguments along the way of the text not fitting in as a design feature which i have to say i really like. but that aside, the point of the prospectus is so you can have a look at what is on offer at cms for pioneer training. we are now offering a BA, not just a diploma which is good news. and if you have done a diploma anywhere in common awards and want to do level 6 that is focused around pioneering mission you could do that with us. then we still have modules, certificate, diploma, MA, a pathway for ordination (we are focused for pioneers but actually approved to train any ordinands), pathways for youth ministry and children and family ministry. if you are interested in finding out more we have an open day next week on monday may 21 and one in june where you can find out or come and see us some other time. 

hanwell hootie

saturday is the hanwell hootie - a festival of free music. grace normally meet on this saturday but we have a retreat day so there is no greace in the evening so will be free to go along. i am actually helping out at a cafe fade to black where there will be djs and a bar so do pop in and say hi if you are between venues.