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
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
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
How green was my vestry
Free saplings will be available at CRE Midlands to publicise a green church heating initiative.
ChurchEcoMiser has no boiler, is compatible with solar panels, silent in operation, virtually maintenance free and (most importantly) warms the fabric and congregation.
Chris Dunphy, pictured with comedian Tim Vine at the opening of CRE National 2022, launched the system two years ago as an all-electric carbon neutral system. He will give away another 200 trees as an indication of the company’s determination to help green the planet. The saplings will be about 150-200mm in a hessian bag of soil.
‘The saplings will be given to people who visit our stand for information,’ he said. ‘It’s the third time we have given them away and the feedback to date has been excellent. The choice this year will be Apple or Cherry. Our commitment to working towards a greener future is to plant 500 square metres of woodland for every church heating system installed. We will be doing this through the National Trust and each church will be issued with a certificate and proof of purchase.’
Chris, a long-standing exhibitor at CRE, has almost 50 years’ experience in church heating. He developed ChurchEcoMiser in 2016 as the ideal system for remote country churches where gas was either unavailable or too expensive to install – ‘but it proved a popular option with all churches.’
Over the years, he has designed and installed more than 1,000 heating systems in church buildings and was the heating adviser to the Diocese of Sheffield for 10 years. Many of the churches he has worked on are Victorian or medieval where protecting the fabric of the building is as important as heating the congregation.
‘It has always been a challenging but rewarding task,’ he said.
• ChurchEcoMiser are on stand D1 at CRE Midlands 23
Photo: Comedian Tim Vine (left) with Chris Dunphy of ChurchEcoMiser
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
Barbie inspires ‘meaningful’ advent calendar
Barbie has been a big summer hit – but few realise she was the inspiration behind the UK’s top-selling Christian Fairtrade advent calendar.
‘Back in 2011, I saw a Barbie Advent calendar on sale in a supermarket,’ said David Marshall, founder of the Meaningful Chocolate Company. ‘Three things struck me. How could it only cost 99p? What had she got to do with Christmas? What would you think Christmas was about if all you got was a Barbie calendar every year?’
David also saw surveys showing that 36 per cent of 5 to 7-year-olds did not know whose birthday was celebrated on December 25th and that 51 per cent of adults said the birth of Jesus was irrelevant to their Christmas.
‘We worked with clergy, churches and children’s advisers and that’s how the Real Advent Calendar came to be created,’ he said.
To help share the Christmas story the Real Advent Calendar has a line about the nativity behind each of the 25 doors and a corresponding page in the Christmas story-activity book – included with every calendar. The book expands the story along with Advent challenges and a £300 competition.
More than one million calendars have been sold over the years with three million people experiencing the Christmas story as a result.
The calendars cost £4.50 each and come in cases of 18 (with free delivery). Supermarkets and Traidcraft are not stocking the calendar this year but, while stocks last, it will be available at the KCLCT bookshop at CRE Midlands 23 or online.
• The KCLCT bookshop is on stand P73 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
Cover the risk, see the reward
Faith-based organisations can find solutions to many key problems with the help of a specialist insurance company.
That’s the view of Simeon Chapman, group director at chartered insurance brokers Hazelton Mountford, based in Worcester city centre with an office in Evesham.
‘In the ever-changing landscape of risk and insurance, we can combine elements of faith, community and resilience,’ explains Simeon.
With so much currently depending on risk assessments, and the fear of action against them if things go wrong, churches can easily give up and do very little. Simeon’s recipe for a community hub, however, involves churches adopting a commendable approach to risk management, diligently identifying, evaluating and controlling risks associated with their ambitious endeavours.
Over the past few years his company, celebrating 15 years in the industry, has found that financial prudence can be a hallmark of a faith community.
‘With transparent financial management practices and responsible allocation of funds, the recipe can form the base of a community hub that provides enough revenue to employ a number of workers,’ he maintains.
Within this vision, a hub can offer a wide range of activities, from live-streamed services to active youth work, as well as providing vital support programmes for the local community. All that, plus events for the church congregation throughout the year, such as picnics, BBQs, occasional wedding and funeral/memorial services. Small groups of singers and musicians, based at the hub, could go into the neighbourhood and undertake evangelistic activities.
‘Even in the face of challenges, communities can collectively identify, evaluate, control and transfer risks while making a profound impact, with insurance part of the protection and solution,’ continues Simeon. ‘In the midst of life’s uncertainties, faith and community can be our greatest assets in navigating the challenges that come our way.’
• Hazelton Mountford are on stand E31 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
Why Birmingham youth are ‘open to claims of Jesus’
For 13 years an interdenominational event in the city has been run successfully by Birmingham City Mission’s youth team – and you can find out about it at CRE Midlands next month.
Called Fulfil, it is for both churched and unchurched young people and creates an important connection point of faith and fellowship. The initiative is particularly important with Birmingham classed as Europe’s youngest major city – under-25s being nearly 40 per cent of the population and facing huge pressures.
As Steve Botham of Time4Brum puts it: ‘We have more than 400 schools, four universities, a “super diverse” population and all the excitement, innovation and energy associated with youth.’
Yet the pressures affecting children and young people are evident. The world of digital devices, social media, the ongoing effects of the Covid years, exam pressures, political agendas and gender confusion all impact young people’s mental health and wellbeing. For many inner-city young people there is the daily reality of knife crime, addiction, economic deprivation, lack of opportunity, racial injustice and disenfranchisement.
But, through Fulfil, Birmingham City Mission (BCM), formed in 1966, is still playing a key role in bringing young people back to God.
John Platt, BCM youth team co-ordinator, said: ‘We have detected a growing interest in spiritual things among young people. This has been the experience at our after-school clubs, with young people asking deep spiritual questions. Perhaps a growing disillusion with materialism, failings in authority and the hopelessness of atheism mean that many young people are open to the claims of Jesus. To them the distinctiveness of Christ stands out.’
He points out that youth leaders are seeing a growing number of young people across the city with a deepening passion for Jesus. Prayer movements are being formed, led by young people. Younger generations are using their gifts in churches and young migrants are playing a key role in revitalising the Church. Fulfil is a vital part of the programme but, as with all BCM projects, could not function without volunteers.
‘We are so grateful to people who give up their time to provide the staffing and skills needed,’ he said.
Heather is a volunteer at youth camp. ‘I enjoy my role with the youth team,’ she said, ‘because it allows me to see the joy on a young person’s face, not only when they get to hear the good news of the Lord but also the joy of trying new things. It encourages me in my faith.’
• BCM will be on stand E15 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
Come as a group and reap the rewards
Come as a group and reap the rewards – that’s the message from organisers of next month’s CRE Midlands 23 (8-9 Nov).
From bishop to bell-ringer, vicar to verger, a day at CRE Midlands 23 (Cranmore Park, Solihull) will be one of rich discovery. You’ll meet 170 charities, missions and church suppliers displaying everything from clergy clothing to customised keyboards. A series of 50 talks and presentations will cover issues of practical concern like faith sharing and fund raising, holiday clubs and homelessness.
Rachel Jenkins, pastor at the Church at Junction 10 in Walsall, said: ‘As a staff team we are coming to the exhibition to look at the latest products and services available to us as a church. We will journey together and use it as part of working creatively, finding solutions for the context in which we minister.’
In the late 1970s Pastor John Price and his family followed a call to establish a worshipping community at Junction 10 of the M6, miraculously acquiring the site to build a church that reached out to the wider community. His successor Jon Bentley, built on this legacy, moving the church towards a foundational expression of church and mission. Following Jon Bentley’s tenure, a new eldership was appointed to lead the church.
Meanwhile Revd Jeremy Alcock, from St Martin in the Bull in Birmingham, has bought his own ticket and ordered six more for his congregation.
CRE event director Brett Pitchfork said: ‘It is impossible for one person to discover all our exhibitors and talks programme has to offer in one day. That’s why we encourage churches to bring a leadership team and focus on specific areas of responsibility. Best of all, your tickets are valid over both days.’
Entry to CRE Midlands is just £3 each for a group of three or more, if your tickets are bought in advance from here (£8 on the door).
Cartoon by Canon Taffy Davies
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
Want children to tune into the Bible? Lego and let God
Churches looking for ways to get children to tune into the Christmas message would do well to check out Go Chatter Videos’ multi-media resources.
The Coventry-based company will be at CRE Midlands 23 with an 8ft by 4ft Lego set based on Bible narratives. They will also show a series of animated videos with Lego figures that bring to life well-known biblical stories.
Joshua Whitehouse and Joshua Manley, who joined the Go Chatter Videos team last year, are responsible for all the animations and editing.
The company are offering a complete Christmas Lego multimedia resource for children’s groups and services. The pack contains loads of ideas and resources for running a Christmas Lego multimedia group or family service and includes six animated Lego Christmas videos, games, talk notes, crafts and publicity resources.
With Hope Together, Go Chatter have also developed an augmented reality Lego Christmas story trail – a quest to find hidden videos that tell the Christmas message. A series of five videos, each activated by a QR code, feature Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men and Jesus. This augmented reality video search is soon to launch nationwide in the toy stores of The Entertainer.
Go Chatter’s Dan Rackham will talk about the project at CRE Midlands 23 (12pm, Wed 8 Nov, Talks Area 2) and the Go Chatter Videos team will be available to chat to visitors to the exhibition over both days.
• Go Chatter Videos are on stand B3 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