Christ the King |
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Year of Discipleship - Thank you Reflections on the Year of Discipleship and Celebrating Discipleship service 
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Canterbury Diocese News Release 21.11.11
Cathedral packed for discipleship service with Christian songwriter Graham KendrickAs a finale to Canterbury Diocese's year of discipleship, nearly one thousand people attended the special 'Celebrating Discipleship' service with Christian songwriter Graham Kendrick at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday (20 November). The service, held on 'Christ the King' provided a chance for members of churches across the diocese to celebrate their discipleship and re-dedicate themselves to Christ. It followed on from a year of diocesan discipleship activities including a diagnostic lent course, the sharing of testimonies through a series of postcards and video stories distributed to parishes, nine days of focused diocesan-wide prayer between Ascension and Pentecost and 'The Gathering, a two day learning event in September with speakers including Adrian Plass and John Bell. In the weeks leading up to the service, parish leadership teams and individuals were encouraged to think about and record actions that can be taken in the coming year which will help strengthen discipleship. Representatives from parishes symbolically offered these 'intentions' during the service on Sunday. The worship was led by the Bishop of Dover, the Right Reverend Trevor Willmott who commented: "Coming together as a diocese on the threshold of the new Christian year, we shared in the splendour of stories of transformed lives and churches and took the opportunity to present individual and parish intentions which will help us be more deliberate about deepening our discipleship into 2012 and beyond. "It was wonderful to have Christian songwriter and worship leader, Graham Kendrick at this special service. His songs and music added immeasurably to the joy of this uplifting celebration." The Bishop concluded: "The year of discipleship has been an opportunity for us all to renew our discipleship. I pray that this year will result in us in knowing Jesus better and living our faith more fully in the places where God has called us, 24 hours a day seven days a week." Ends Information on Canterbury Diocese's 24/7 Year of Discipleship Bishop Trevor initiated the year of discipleship after travelling around the diocese following his installation in 2010 and being struck 'by the desire from people across Canterbury Diocese to reconnect with what makes their faith real'. Launching the year of discipleship in January, Bishop Trevor said: "Concerns have been shared with me about how worn out some of us have become simply 'keeping the show on the road' and how this can distract us from being disciples and making disciples. Questions have been asked about how we can support those new to faith and those coming back to church after a period of absence; is what we do in church sufficient to develop us spiritually? The year of discipleship is an opportunity for us all to renew our discipleship." Activities in the year of discipleship:
In 2012, church communities are being encouraged to look at their on-going discipleship within the area of 'welcome' and 'hospitality'. The diocese is offering a Lent course and resources for Nine Days of Prayer to help church communities with this aspect of their ongoing discipleship. Information about Graham Kendrick: 
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