Time to welcome in the singled out
Single Christians overwhelmingly feel isolated and misunderstood, to the point of leaving the church to which they belong.
That’s a key finding of a survey of more than 3,000 single Christians commissioned by dating website Christian Connection.
‘We realised that something needed to be done and Single Friendly Church Network (SFCN) was born,’ said Beth Collingridge, communication director for the new charity. ‘We want to see all churches become places where single people feel welcomed, valued and included.
‘Our work started more than five years ago with the mission to inspire a movement that welcomes and values single people in all our churches. We also want to see single people empowered to participate fully in the life and ministry of the church. Singleness is on the rise in every age group in the UK, with 40 per cent of UK adults currently single. Churches need to recognise and reflect this change.’
SFCN equip church leaders through a guided audit, training and providing further resources, to make positive changes in their churches to ensure all single people are welcomed, valued and included. Having just launched as a charity, they hope to build a network of single friendly churches across the UK which have completed the audit and committed to making positive changes.
Churches taking part in the audit are encouraged to find out who is single in their local area; review their language to ensure it is inclusive of single people; check that those arriving alone for services are welcomed and included in social opportunities; check that sermon messages and illustrations are relevant to single people as well as couples; and whether single people are encouraged to take on leadership positions.
Members of the group will be at CRE Midlands to introduce the organisation and chat to visitors about how they can help their church. They are also cutting a cake on their stand at 3pm on Wed 8 Nov, to celebrate becoming a charity.
‘This is a vital area in church ministry and we want to do all we can to ensure the welcome churches give to single people is real and enhances their experience and involvement in the work and mission of the church,’ added Beth.
• Single Friendly Church are on stand D7 at CRE Midlands 23
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
Sagic: proudly values-driven for more than a century
A church-based insurance company, established before WWI, has undergone a rebranding transformation.
Established in 1909, Sagic, owned by The Salvation Army, is one of the oldest ethical insurers in the country. It has undergone the changes to better reflect the company’s values and commitment to customers and the wider community.
An updated brand purpose – Insuring You Helping Others – reflects the company’s commitment to providing supportive insurance that goes beyond traditional policies.
‘We’re a values-driven company that’s committed to giving back to great causes,’ said Gordon Dewar, chief executive officer. ‘We support the diverse work of this renowned global charity. We provide insurance products to families, businesses and church organisations across the UK and have a long-standing heritage of community engagement and giving back.
‘We are not just an insurance company, but a company that cares deeply about our customers and the communities we serve. Our renewed focus on positive values and high standards will guide us as we continue to provide exceptional service and make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. I am thrilled to be a part of this transformation, and I am confident that our customers and the businesses we interact withwill be equally proud of what we accomplish together.’
Sagic’s commitment to exceptional service is reflected in its five-star rated home insurance product, rated highly by Fairer Finance, Moneyfacts and Defaqto Fairer Finance.
• Sagic are on Stand E5 at CRE Midlands
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
The quality content creator bringing people closer
In an age of digital connectivity, Monkeynut Audiobooks are helping churches and individuals develop quality Christian content that communicates.
With a commitment to creating exceptional courses, podcasts, professional interviews, web trailers and audiobooks, this first-time CRE exhibitor at Cranmore Park has become a key producer of faith-based multimedia. The company collaborates with publishers such as SPCK, Harper Collins and Thomas Nelson, and authors like N.T. Wright, Bob Hartman and triple MOBO award-winner Guvna B – becoming a go-to source for churches, publishers, businesses and individuals.
‘It’s a blessing to be able to support people who are bringing others closer to Jesus,’ said Elliott Frisby, founder of Monkeynut. ‘It’s our calling, and it’s what we love. There are many doors that lead to the Lord and we have the honour of helping people guide others through them.’
Operating from their picturesque studio in the heart of Hampshire, nestled close to Winchester Cathedral and Romsey Abbey, Monkeynut offer a unique service called Record My Life Story. This service captures interviews that immortalise life stories and is perfect for retiring pastors, milestone anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions.
‘If you’re passionate about your faith and want to share your journey, we are offering you the opportunity to record free social media interviews at CRE that will shine a spotlight on your message and mission,’ said Elliott. ‘In a world where the digital realm opens countless doors to faith, we are ready to support you. Join us on our journey at Cranmore Park.’
• Monkeynut Audiobooks are on stand G13 at CRE Midlands 23
Main photo: Children’s author Bob Hartman and Rev Sarah McClelland speaking to Monkeynut’s Elliott Frisby on an upcoming podcast, ‘The Outskirts of Faith’.
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
Star gazing to sport engaging: find a little heaven in Devon
Full-time church leaders responsible for multiple fellowships are being invited to a special retreat – at a reduced rate.
Running from 29 January to 2 February 2024, the retreat will be held at Lee Abbey (pictured at sunset), home of an international Christian community and location for many different ways to escape the tensions and pressures of life.
Set in 280 acres and with some of the darkest skies in the country, it is ideal for stargazers – with facilities for down-to-earth sporting enthusiasts, country walking and all the touches of a high-class hotel.
‘Guests come to stay for a week or weekend – on their own, as couples and families, in small or large church groups for a unifying time away together,’ said Lee Abbey warden Rev Gordon Crowther. ‘You can join in a silent retreat, individual guided retreats, summer weeks, times for personal development, creative retreats, retreats for ordinands, weeks on prayer and discipleship, Bible passages, on science and the environment. Or you can simply find your own rhythm and space.’
He pointed out that community members come from countries all over the world including Brazil, Kenya, Cameroon, India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, The Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland and of course, the UK – all working in teams serving the guests.
Lee Abbey staff will be available to talk to potential guests, in particular ministers interested in taking up the reduced rate retreat and anyone interested in the large variety of holidays on offer. There’s also a prize draw with a free weekend for two people to the winner.
• Lee Abbey are on stand A35 at CRE Midlands 23
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
How your ‘hybrid’ church could become a stand-alone power station
As the focus continues on carbon footprints, one guilty contributor is likely to be the fossil-fuelled heating appliance in your church.
Helping churches find the best available heating system is CRE exhibitor Dunphy Heating with a track record going back to 1973.
‘We are able to offer various different heating solutions,’ explains director Warren Taylor. ‘These include heat pumps, hybrid systems which use a mixture of gas boilers, heat pumps, solar panels and our ever-popular electric radiator system which works just like a traditional heating system but uses electricity, so no gas boiler is required. All our systems are expertly installed by our directly employed engineers.’
Warren points out, however, that careful consideration needs to be given when installing heat pumps.
‘They run at a lower temperature to that of a gas boiler so would not work for every church,’ he explains. ‘We can, however, install a hybrid system which uses both a heat pump and gas boiler because not all churches would be able to solely rely on a heat pump. The heat pump would provide approximately 60 per cent of the heat and the gas boiler would provide the rest. Adding solar panels to your roof can effectively turn it into a standalone power station. This gives you freedom to reduce your energy bills.’
Dunphy Heating can also provide electric radiator systems which work like a traditional radiator but aren’t moving water around.
‘Warm up times tend to be 70 per cent quicker than a traditional radiator,’ says Warren. ‘They also retain their heat for up to 45 minutes meaning the system can be turned off sooner. Adding our Wi-Fi control – which works with all systems – means the exact amount of energy is being used as and when the heating is required and can be controlled remotely from anywhere in the world which can save on energy consumption.’
• Dunphy Heating are on stand G1 at CRE Midlands
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
The power of Tove: a building project Covid couldn’t cancel
A meeting at CRE National 2018 led leaders of a Northamptonshire church to call on exhibitors BCHN Architects to design their revamped premises.
Two churches – Tove Baptist and Towcester Baptist with Helmdon and Western Baptist in Northamptonshire – had amalgamated and moved to the Tove Valley Centre with one group meeting in Weston Chapel.
The new building contains a meeting hall to seat 186 people, featuring an entrance foyer with a folding door that opens to increase capacity for large events. A reception office and kitchen servery open into the foyer while a full catering kitchen and servery also opens onto the meeting hall. Three meeting rooms for 10, 20 and 30 people were created – to be used as lettable spaces as well as children’s classrooms during Sunday services.
Despite building work being halted for six weeks because of Covid, the job was finished in March 2021 and the first service held in April.
Church deacon Rosie Binlay, who with husband Jeremy were the church’s project leaders, told BCHN: ‘We enjoyed learning (fast) how to run a building. A new user commented on the building and I honestly said we couldn’t improve on the design.’
A second phase is planned for which the church is now raising finance.
Baart Harries Newall Architects, a multi award-winning practice, was founded in 1963 and became BCHN in 2023 following a merger with Bott Cruise Architects. BCHN will be at CRE Midlands to discuss potential church projects of all kinds. The company’s Mike Cruise will also talk on ‘Collaborative design for your new church building’ (3pm, Thu 9 Nov). More information here.
• BCHN will be on stand P9 at CRE Midlands 23
Photo: Tove Valley Centre in Northamptonshire.
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
Your church project: small but perfectly financed
Ninety-six per cent of the UK’s 163,000 charities are small, working with an annual income of less than £1m. Nearly half have an income of less than £10,000.
‘Small charities often struggle to find support that is right for them and meets the need of the organisation, yet doesn’t smash the budget,’ said Sean Tully, associate consultant with Action Planning, a company with more than 30 years’ experience in helping thousands of not-for-profit organisations, including churches, achieve their aims.
‘When it comes to providing consultancy support for charities, we believe one size doesn’t fit all,’ he said. During Small Charity week in June this year Action Planning, based in Tadworth, Surrey, launched a new small charity support service designed specifically to meet the needs of smaller organisations.
‘Our experts will be at CRE Midlands to talk to small charities about it,’ said Sean. ‘We have a network of 150 experienced consultants. Many have worked with and for small charities and church ministries. They understand the strengths, adaptability and impact that small charities offer their local communities.
‘At CRE you can find out more about how the Action Planning small charity support package could help you. The service is designed and delivered around the needs of small organisations at two levels – our small charity analysis tool, a written report based on the analysis, and half a day of consultancy support.’
Lesley Gladwell, chief executive officer for Rebuild East Midlands, said: ‘The small charity analysis was very easy to use and the questions caused me to think about some aspects of our organisational health in new ways. The sessions were so useful and left us with a real buzz of excitement.’
Action Planning will lead a training session on both days of CRE Midlands, entitled ‘Raising funds for capital projects in your church’ (12pm, Wed 8 and Thur 9 Nov).
• Action Planning are on stand B15 at CRE Midlands
Photo: The Action Planning team in action.
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
Long-established carpet firm meets cathedral challenge
A long-established carpet manufacturer faced a tough challenge when the ancient Chapter House at Gloucester Cathedral (pictured) needed a new floor covering.
The cathedral team wanted the design to be based on, and sympathetic to, the existing tiled floor (pictured) – maintaining the tone of the aesthetic.
Alan Whittle, sales and marketing director at Wilton Carpets, a first-time exhibitor at CRE Midlands, said: ‘Working closely with the chief operating officer of the cathedral, our design team originated an opulent design, in rich reds and burnt orange, based on the tile design. There’s a beautiful order to the geometric uniformity of the overall piece, and a timeless elegance to the ornate detail of the replicated tiles.
‘The challenge was complicated because the carpets need to be lifted regularly as the Chapter House is often used for filming. This necessitated the highest quality carpet to maintain appearance and shape and a sophisticated fitting solution to ensure the historic tiled floor was not damaged.
‘It was a great opportunity to work in conjunction with the cathedral team to arrive at this beautiful solution which will complement the Chapter House for many years to come.’
The complex job was specified by Andrew Bayliss at LGM Ltd who also oversaw the fitting.
The Axminster carpet (pictured) was woven on Wilton’s high-speed loom in standard wool-rich yarn and in a quality suitable for extremely high traffic areas, offering durability and appearance retention, luxurious underfoot comfort and long lifetime value.
The company traces its history back to the original weavers who developed and patented the ‘Wilton weave’ technique in 1741. Woven carpets have been made at Wilton, near Salisbury for nearly 275 years and representatives will be at CRE Midlands to discuss flooring solutions with church leaders and visitors.
• Wilton Carpets are on stand F5 at CRE Midlands 23
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
Universe goes back to print for the future
One of the UK’s best-known religious newspapers has bucked the trend and gone back into print after a period publishing online only.
The Universe was founded in 1860 – just two years after the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes – and went through a number of changes over the years before being closed down in 2021. Two months later it was resurrected as an online publication with Michael Winterbottom as editor. On May 19, under Michael’s leadership, it was relaunched as a printed publication.
The Universe is now posted directly to subscribers with the content identical to the digital version. Editor Michael Winterbottom explained that the new format was established to ‘fulfil the wishes’ of the readers.
‘It has been an exciting time for all of us at the Universe,’ he said. ‘The digital edition has been very well received and it’s now a pleasure to fulfil the wishes of all those who have told us that they prefer a print copy of the paper. Thus, we are managing to supply what all of our readers want, with both the digital and print copy, which must surely be what every newspaper strives to do.’
• The Universe Catholic Weekly is featured on Display Panel 2 at CRE Midlands 23
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands
Face to face from age to age
Face to Face with Jesus features 40 postcard images of Jesus through the ages and from around the world.
‘They are a tiny snapshot of a countless multitude,’ explains Rev Charlotte Gale, creator of the new resource. ‘Jesus is portrayed from a wide range of times, places and styles, depicting his incarnation, passion and resurrected life.’
The images include two new artworks created by members of the St Clare’s at the Cathedral community in Coventry, launched in 2017 by Charlotte and Rev Naomi Nixon as a pioneer church community based at the cathedral.
‘Face to Face with Jesus is designed to encourage people to think and pray, in worship, discussions or private devotions,’ said Charlotte. ‘They can easily be added to with other images. Most of all, we hope they will draw people closer to the Jesus we are called to follow.’
Since the earliest days of the church, Christians have depicted Jesus in art. From AD 300 the familiar image of a bearded man with long hair began to emerge, which is still prominent even in much contemporary art. Images often reflect the ethnicity of the culture they were created in as well as the artistic style of the era. Every aspect of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and kingship have been depicted.
Face to Face with Jesus is available now for £25 from stclaresatthecathedral.org. It is accompanied by a blog containing ideas for using the resource, and a PowerPoint presentation featuring all the images.
St Clare’s at the Cathedral are exhibitors at CRE Midlands 23. As well as innovative and imaginative worship resources, the shop also sells church supplies, ethically-sourced gifts, and clerical wear.
• St Clare’s at the Cathedral are on stand DS31 at CRE Midlands 23
Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3
Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)
Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands