Cranmer Hall Announces New Growing Faith Learning Hubs

Cranmer Hall, St John’s College is delighted to announce it has been selected to be a Growing Faith Learning Hub in partnership with the Growing Faith Foundation. As such, we hope to become a dedicated research and training centre with the focus of enabling a radical shift in our churches so that our children and teenagers are invited and empowered to take an active part in serving the mission of God in the North East and beyond.

Our Learning Hub will be rooted in prayer, attentive to the voices and experience of children and teenagers in the North East, and serious about deepening our theological research in this area, in order to then create and offer different training packages for different people groups (e.g., parents and godparents, teachers, chaplains and school leaders, church leaders and those ministering with children and teenagers, etc.). Our hope is that this Learning Hub will empower the whole body of Christ to grow in faith as we specifically seek and listen to the faith of our children.

Cranmer Hall has been developing its research and training in growing faith in children and teenagers over the last few years, having created the first Growing Faith module, and is grateful for the partnerships it has developed with other leaders in the Diocese and with the Growing Faith Foundation. In 2023 it is partnering with Lucy Moore of the Growing Faith Foundation to organise and present the first ever TEI Theological Symposium to encourage research in this area among ministerial students, and also to host a summer conference for anyone wanting to deepen their understanding and ministry with children and teenagers.

Revd Dr Emma Parker, Deputy Warden of Cranmer Hall, added, ‘We are really excited about working more closely with our local families, churches and schools and about being part of the journey to see how God is leading and guiding his church through the faith of our children and teenagers.’

Revd Sarah Strand, Tutor and Lecturer at Cranmer Hall, says, ‘We are so delighted to have this opportunity to work closely with children and young people to build on the exciting work which has already begun in deepening theology, supporting research and developing practice, mission and ministry in households, schools and churches.’

Lydia Bagg, a member of the Learning Hub working group and a child in the Cranmer Hall community says, ‘We believe that children have as much right to speak about God as grown-ups do. I hope that our Learning Hub would develop training that helps churches interact more with us because me and my friends want to serve God and talk about Jesus.’