Work on our diocesan vision and strategy is continuing and this Autumn, we would love you to have a say in the next part of the emerging strategy journey as we look to shape our strategic priorities.
We are offering opportunities to engage at seven consultation events which are happening at three venues across the diocese.
Our remaining event is at St Nicolas, Nuneaton on Thursday 1 October (7pm-9pm).
Sign up for a Consultation Here
Resources for churches:
Download graphics for screens, newsletters or print_QR Code
Download graphics for screens, newsletters or print_Dates
Download Bishop Sophie's video for use in services and gatherings
Young People:
As part of our consultation, we want to make sure the voice and views of our young people are included.
To do this, we have created a Listening Workshop session plan for churches to run with their young people. The Listening Workshop can be downloaded here;
Autumn Consultation - Listening Workshop for Young People
What is a Listening Workshop?
The Listening Workshop is a session plan for churches to run with a small group of young people. We think 2-12 participants is ideal. If you have a lot of young people, you may want to split into smaller groups with a leader hosting each small group.
Who is it for?
We think the session will work best with secondary school aged young people, and older primary aged young people. But you know your young people best, so have a look at the questions and see what you think!
How does it work?
The process is simple;
1. Download the workshop at the link above, and print out the sheets. Included are Response Recording Sheets for you to capture your young people's responses as you go - if you have a larger group, you may want to print these sheets A3 sized.
2. Find a time to work through the discussion points, activities, and questions with your group. This can be done at their regular meeting time and we think should take around 60mins to complete (depending on how much they want to talk and whether you add in any breaks).
3. Once you've gathered the responses, click here to share the responses with us. Once we have all of the responses, we will review them and create a response that we'll share with you and your young people.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Diocese of Coventry Growing Faith Enabler James Henney at: james.henney@coventry.anglican.org
Our Current Thinking
At the July Diocesan Synod we agreed a form of words which speaks of our dioceses' unique charism and will sit over our new vision and strategy work:
See the most recent emerging Vision and Strategy Presentation from Diocesan Synod
The Story So Far
Starting in June 2025 Bishop Sophie set out a plan for her first year as the Bishop of Coventry to get to know and understand our diocese as it is. This plan involved several phases, which would take us well into 2026 and help us all discern where our diocese is, as well as inform its future direction.
There was an ‘Immersion’ phase, which involved visiting every deanery and the cathedral for a whole day at a time, and a phase of ‘Watching and Waiting’ throughout Advent, which saw high levels of engagement from across the whole diocese.
Those periods of listening are already helping to shape the diocese to support ministry in our parishes more effectively, with the return to geographical archdeacons being one example of this. Our current phase is ‘Walking Forward Together’ where we all join Bishop Sophie, and the team, in the work of refreshing and renewing our Diocesan Vision and Strategy.
