God’s love has come to us in the shape of the cross – up, across, and down.
Bishop Christopher says:
"God’s love has come to us in the shape of the cross – up, across, and down. God’s amazing grace is here:
- To put us right with God
- To put us right with each other
- To put us right with the earth that we have damaged for so long
I long for the day when the whole diocese seeks life-giving growth for everyone: for every person whatever their colour and ethnic background, whatever the life chances they’ve had, poor and rich, however they define their identity, gender and sexuality, wherever they live, city scape or countryside, whatever their age, young or old, whatever their politics, preferences and perspectives, whatever their education and whatever their successes and failures in life.
And all of this will mean hunting out our biases, especially when we’re not aware of them, and bringing them into the light of the deep and true and abiding identity of the Church ‘where there is no longer Jew or Greek, no longer slave or free person, no longer male or female, for all of us are one in Jesus Christ’.
Difference
Working closely with the Archbishop of Canterbury's reconciliation team, our Reconciliation Enabler is equipping and empowering churches, schools, chaplaincies, and individuals to be ‘Partners together in the Message and Ministry of Reconciliation’ throughout the whole diocese. An important part of this work encouraging people to engage with 'Difference'. This course explores what it means to follow Jesus in a divided and conflicted world, equipping people with three formational habits of reconciliation to help see transformation through everyday encounters. The course is designed for both online and in-person groups.
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Race equality
The Diocese of Coventry is committed to renewing relationships broken by inequality. The primary mission of the Race Equality Advisory Group (REAG) is to advise the Race Equality Steering Group (RESG) on how best to help our diocese better embody and reflect the rich diversity visible in our communities. To further this goal, we offer Amazing GRACE – a unique learning opportunity that helps Christians better understand the sin of racism. Through awareness and by developing rapport, participants embrace healing, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal, becoming champions of this diocesan-wide mission.
This work is a critical part of our ongoing effort to challenge and eradicate the stigma of institutional racism that impacts our country and the Church today. Under the leadership of Bishop John, we join Race Equality Champions in the Church of England and the Archbishops’ Race Equality Commission in their commitment to renewed relationships.
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Together for Change
Together for Change (TFC) seeks to outwork the diocesan mission purpose of ‘Transforming Communities’ and reconcile hurting communities to one another. TFC seeks to focus on parishes that fall within the bottom 20% of deprivation by giving advice and support to parishes or by raising funds and leading significant projects.
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Environment
In 2009, Diocesan Synod adopted the Diocese of Coventry Diocesan Policy. Since then our Diocesan Environment Group (DEG) has been inspiring, encouraging and challenging the people, churches and structures of the Diocese to “strive to take seriously and responsibly our God-given vocation to care for the earth and to demonstrate that care among those with whom we share our lives”. An important part of this work has been the promotion of Eco Church, and in 2019, the Diocese was awarded an Eco Diocese Bronze Award.
In 2020, General Synod passed a motion committing the Church of England to reach net zero carbon by 2030. Our DEG is developing strategies to help our diocese to reach this ambitious target.
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