Bishop Dominic writes….
I am very excited about our Living Faith lay training course which we shall be introducing over the next few months. For a long time I have been looking forward to the diocese having a really good course to enable lay people – new and old Christians alike – to explore the Christian faith.
After a great deal of research, we found that the lay training course offered by the Diocese of Bath and Wells had a great deal to commend it and, with suitable local adaptations and additions, would be ideal for us. The Diocese of Bath and Wells has very generously given us the course free of charge, although we shall need to produce all the course materials and there will be a cost. Participants will be invited to make a contribution and the diocese will pay the rest.
Ms Lisa Tregenza is working on a part-time basis as the Course Director to promote Living Faith and the Revd Janet Bone has been working on the publicity material. Lisa will be helping to set up the local groups where the courses will take place and I hope that Deaneries and Parishes will invite her to come and talk about it. I also hope that people will volunteer to be local course leaders.
Living Faith is a course to deepen faith, explore the Christian tradition and equip people for ministry. I hope that lay people will want to take part to help them to become better disciples of Jesus and simply for the fun and satisfaction of having a greater understanding of our faith. I recently wrote to someone and said that as I get older I find myself getting more and more bored with the Church but more and more excited about God!
Living Faith will also provide a basic grounding for those who are exploring a vocation to lay and ordained ministries within the Church.
Please keep a look out for the Living 
Faith publicity material as it becomes available and please make sure that it is well advertised in your church and encourage one another to take part. This is an exciting adventure and will help towards the renewal of the Church as we learn more about what our amazing God has done for us and how Jesus still calls men and women, young and old to be his disciples and his ministers.
+ Dominic