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2-4 November 2012, Warrington, Cheshire

Contents
2
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his
pasture.”
Psalm 100:1-3 (TNIV®)
Greetings from Joanne Cox ............................................................................ 3
Welcome to Warrington ................................................................................. 4
A message from Mark Wakelin ....................................................................... 5
Programme .................................................................................................... 6
Speakers ........................................................................................................ 8
Workshop leaders ........................................................................................ 10
New Song Network ...................................................................................... 11
The Marketplace .......................................................................................... 12
Daily devotion material ................................................................................. 13
Local information ......................................................................................... 16
Map of Bold Street Methodist Church .......................................................... 18
Map of Warrington ...................................................................................... 19

We are delighted to welcome you to Warrington for the Connected Worship 2012 Conference.
This Conference will equip and inspire you to connect worship to local and global contexts, to
each other, and to God. We have all come from different places and experiences – and these
will help to shape our time together.
In planning this Conference, we have tried hard to put into practice some of the themes
that we will be learning and sharing throughout the weekend. By the end, we hope that
you will have fresh ideas for the Advent season, reflected on different questions and ways of
approaching worship, and new skills in setting worship services into the numerous contexts in
which we find ourselves.
Ultimately, we hope that you will meet with God this weekend. We pray that you will rediscover
your calling to lead God’s people in worship, and that you will have been surprised by
something that you have experienced here with us.
3
In this booklet, you will find devotional material for each day, enabling you to find some space
and take your own time to connect with God. There is also an introduction to New Song
Network, who will helping to lead our worship throughout the weekend. As our hosts, they
have worked hard to help make this Conference happen – so please thank the stewards,
catering team, technicians and worship team for their time and hospitality.
Joanne Cox
evangelism in contemporary
culture officer
We hope that you are inspired by Connected Worship 2012. We also hope that you are
challenged, and resourced for your ministry, wherever and whenever that might be.
May God bless you this weekend.

Welcome to
Warrington
Welcome!
Warrington is in the Sankey Valley Circuit.
The Sankey Valley Circuit was created in September 2011 in response to the Regrouping for
Mission initiative. Part of our circuit mission statement is to “put our worship at the heart of
our longing to transform the Church and world.”
We are especially glad to be hosting this conference, which will give us opportunities to
reflect on leading worship and preaching that makes the good news of God’s love in Jesus
Christ real for people.
4
I know that the Lord has gone ahead of us in all the preparations and we are grateful to
Joanne Cox and other members of the Connexional Team for all their work.
We pray that the time you spend here will refresh, encourage, challenge and equip you for
all you are and do in the Lord’s service.
Lucille Rogers
superintendent minister
of the Sankey Valley
Circuit
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.
Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.
Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
through him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT)

A message
from Mark
Wakelin
I love the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q: What is the chief end of humanity
A: Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
It is, of course, not original: Mark’s Gospel reminds us that the first commandment is “love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and
with all your strength” (Mark 12:30), and of course he is quoting the Hebrew scriptures
(Deuteronomy 6:5).
It would be a good deal easier to justify our existence as a Church if “to love God” wasn’t
the first thing that mattered. In a world that values the practical and the prosaic it would be
much easier if the first commandment was, “love your neighbour”, or “seek justice” or “save
the whale”, or “reduce your carbon footprint”. But it isn’t – we are called to “wonder, love
and praise.”
5
The Revd Dr Mark Wakelin
president of the Methodist
Conference
What we do then, as preachers and worship leaders connected together is of the first
importance. We are invited to lead God’s people (and God’s world) into a place of worship
and adoration. All our other intentions – to instruct, guide, be relevant, to explain and justify,
to bring together and encourage community, to challenge, inspire and send out – come
second to leading people into the presence of God, or helping them realise that God in all
God’s glory and majesty is already present.
This Conference therefore matters to our ministry together in the way it connects message
and context, context and worship, and all bound together in love of God. We are not only
seeking ways to pay attention to the secular and everyday world where our message may be
heard, but also to be part of God’s way of bringing into the secular and everyday world the
glory, majesty, wonder and awe of the divine presence.

Saturday 3 November
Friday 2 November
From 4.00pm Registration (Church)
5.15pm Introduction and opening worship (Sanctuary)
9.00am
9.30am
Worship (Sanctuary)
Workshops
Preaching – Ron Willoughby (Pyramid)
Worship: 24/7 prayer (Sanctuary)
Frontline – Stephen Hancock (Room 2A, Bold
Street Methodist Church)
6.00pm
Evening meal, (Marketplace)
11.00am
Coffee break (Marketplace)
6
8.00pm
9.30pm
Listening to the soul of your community – Sheridan
Voysey (Sanctuary)
Worship (Sanctuary)
11.30am
Workshops
Preaching (Pyramid)
Worship (Sanctuary)
Frontline (Room 2A)
1.00pm
Lunch (Marketplace)
2.30pm
Connected in context – Jackie Bellfield, Helen
Cameron, Roger Walton (Pyramid)
4.00pm
Tea break (Marketplace)
4.30pm
Connect in context: Experience – New Song
Network (Pyramid)
6.00pm
Evening meal
8.00pm
Connected in context – Helen Cameron, Roger
Walton (Pyramid)
9.30pm
Worship (Pyramid)

Sunday 4 November
9.00am
9.30am
11.00am
1.00pm
2.30pm
4.00pm
6.00pm
Worship (Pyramid)
Workshops
Preaching (Pyramid)
Worship (Sanctuary)
Frontline (Room 2A)
Holy Communion
Traditional service – Jim Booth, Lucille Rogers
(Santuary)
Alternative worship – Jackie Bellfield (Pyramid)
Lunch (Marketplace)
Connected and sent – Joanne Cox (Pyramid)
Tea and departures
Evening service – Helen Cameron (Pyramid)
In need of some quiet space
Throughout the hours of the conference, a prayer room is
available at Bold Street Methodist Church. There are stations to
interact with, and plenty of seats. Please feel free to use the room
at any time, for your own prayer and reflection.
Need someone to talk to
Helen Cameron is our conference chaplain, and is available to
listen and pray with you in confidence. Speak to her directly, or
ask one of the conference team.
Enjoy writing and storytelling
Ever wondered about what Jesus might make of the world in
which we live We are excited to have international writer and
broadcaster Sheridan Voysey with us for the weekend. During the
lunch breaks on Saturday and Sunday, Sheridan will lead a small
group (maximum 12) on a creative writing experiment. If you
would like to join him, sign up at the registration desk. Packed
lunches will be provided.
7
Spare time
There is plenty of free time in the conference programme. Please
feel free to use these opportunities to explore Warrington. Some
ideas and places to see are suggested on page 17.

Speakers
Jackie Bellfield is a Methodist presbyter serving the Sankey Valley Circuit in the Liverpool District. An
experienced worship leader and preacher, Jackie has pastoral oversight for three churches and heads up the
New Song Network. As the circuit’s fresh expression missioner, Jackie seeks to encourage churches to think
creatively about mission and worship, and is passionate about new and emerging forms of church.
The New Song Network is a growing ecclesial community which meets for worship, discipleship and engages
in acts of social justice to encourage community cohesion. A governor at the local Church of England High
School, member of the local Mission in the Economy group and trustee of a local hospice, Jackie believes in
fostering credible community relationships.
Prior to presbyteral ministry Jackie worked for the Department for Education and Skills and has been a local
preacher since the age of 14.
8
Helen Cameron is a Methodist presbyter and teacher. She was given a note to preach at 16, after she had
been preaching and leading worship with others since she was 11. She is interested in many things, including
great worship, novels, theatre and theology. She is deeply committed to the Methodist Church which she
loves (even when it drives her crazy) and wants to work with others to improve the quality of our public
worship.
Helen lives in Birmingham and is oversight tutor at the Queen’s Foundation. She is married to Iain, a GP, and
together they have three teenage children. She also has a bit of a shoe fetish.
Joanne Cox is the evangelism in contemporary culture officer for the Methodist Church. As a Methodist
presbyter, she previously served the Methodist Church in Rotherham. She was the co-editor of The Call and
the Commission (Paternoster, 2009), and recently graduated with a doctorate from Durham University with
her thesis ‘Challenging Leadership’. In 2011, Joanne was awarded the Christians in New Media Award for the
video short Tell Show Be (www.tellshowbe.com) and was also involved in the very first Twitter Remembrance
Service.

She is part of the leadership team at Sanctuary - a young adults’ community based at Methodist Central Hall,
Westminster.
Joanne drinks tea, grows raspberries, enjoys Nordic-noir books, and, based on a two year old resolution (and
inspired by The Great British Bake Off), is determined to continue to learn a new recipe baking every month.
Sheridan Voysey is a writer, speaker and broadcaster on contemporary spirituality. His study of society,
culture and Scripture, plus the insights gained from his 2,000-plus radio interviews, have led to two core
convictions: that human beings innately long for God and that God walks beside us incognito.
Sheridan moved to Oxford from Sydney, Australia in June 2011, after creating and hosting the nationallysyndicated
radio show Open House. He is the author of four books, including the award-winning Unseen
Footprints: Encountering the divine along the journey of life, and is currently working on a memoir.
Sheridan blogs at www.sheridanvoysey.com and is active on Facebook and Twitter. He is married to Merryn,
loves dark chocolate and is working hard on acquiring an Oxbridge accent.
9
Roger Walton is chair of the West Yorkshire Methodist District. He served the Methodist Church in circuits in
Stourbridge, Liverpool and St Albans and was connexional secretary for adult learning from 1987 until 1999,
when he moved to be director of the Wesley Study Centre, Durham. He was the William Leech Research
Fellow at Durham University 2010-2011. Recent publications include The Reflective Disciple (Epworth Press,
2009) and Learning for Ministry (Church House Publishing, 2005). He is married to Marion, has grown up
children, Laura and Andrew, and since January 2012 has been a granddad. Yet he still plays a mean game of
table-tennis!

Stephen Hancock was born in Whitley Bay, Northumberland. He worked as an office clerk, salesman,
labourer and nightclub doorman before entering the army in 1989 as a Royal Military policeman. He
served as a soldier in the UK, Berlin and Northern Ireland before entering Queen’s University Belfast, and on
completion of his ministerial training was ordained into the Methodist Church in Ireland. In 2002 he returned
to the army as a chaplain and has served in Germany, Cyprus and the UK, with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2008 he completed an MTh in chaplaincy studies at St Michael’s College, Llandaff.
Currently based at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, he is also the instructor army at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy
Centre, where he is responsible for the initial training of new entrant army chaplains. He enjoys most sports,
theatre and cinema and is an avid reader of British military history. He has been married to Anita, a nurse, for
22 years and they have three children; Rebekah (14) Thomas (12) and Matthew (10) – all of whom attend
Monkton school in Bath.
10
Carla Harding
Carla Harding is the international prayer director within the 24-7 Prayer movement (www.24-7prayer.com).
Carla was a teenager in the first night and day prayer room that sparked the movement of prayer, mission
and justice. The experience of a fresh, creative and missional way to weave prayer into all of life propelled her
into helping others discover the same all over the world. She is passionate about God, encouraging others,
unity in the Church and life-filled faith. Still based in Chichester, Carla and her husband Steve Harding are
part of Revelation Church and enjoy music, friends, food, travel and good stories.
Ron Willoughby has been preaching for 25 years, but he’s been a storyteller for a lot longer. He holds
degrees from Charleston Southern University and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Ron has
been married to Barbara for 23 years and they have two children, Kathryn (18) and Joseph (15). They also
have a cat named Henry. He’s English.

New Song
Network
New Song Network is a growing community of people who meet together for worship,
discipleship and fellowship in Warrington. The network involves a variety of opportunities for
creative worship and growth in discipleship, alongside times of outreach and mission. New
Song Café and New Song Breakfast are monthly acts of worship and these are supplemented
with a monthly discipleship meeting - an evening of discussion, sharing and learning. Outreach
involves projects such as the community action team and drinks at the local crematorium on
special days (eg Mothering Sunday and Easter).
11
Growth of the network has outstripped our expectations and involves an increasing number
of people who have had little or no previous involvement with Church. We believe it is
growing because New Song offers vibrant Christianity while also creating community, building
relationships and providing opportunities to explore issues of faith in a friendly, non-threatening
environment. Coming soon are Pub Church and Home Groups along with additional community
projects.

The
Marketplace
The Marketplace is located in Bold Street Methodist Church, and will be in the same area as
all refreshments are served.
We are delighted to have information from a number of local branches of national charities
– including Christian Aid, Amnesty International and the National Aids Trust.
There is also a comprehensive book stall, where you will be able to browse books on the
themes of preaching, worship, advent and theological reflection. In addition, you will be
able to buy books written by some of the Conference speakers, which can be signed upon
request.
12
There are also displays and information from Roots, Methodist Insurance, Methodist
Publishing, LWPT, 24-7 Prayer, and many more.
This is in addition to all the resources that you have in your Conference packs, which have
kindly been sponsored by Methodist Insurance.
Take some time to have a look around, see what resources and ideas are on offer, and chat
to the representatives of the different organisations and charities who are here to inspire
and encourage you!

Daily
Devotion
Material (1)
“But I have calmed and quieted
my soul,
like a weaned child with its
mother;
my soul is like the weaned
child that is with me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and for
evermore.”
Psalm 131:2-3 (NRSV)
When we arrive at a new place, a conference,
a meeting, a new place to live we come with
a suitcase (or two). But we bring other things
with us too. We bring hopes and dreams
about what we might learn, we bring anxieties
and fears that we might not find what we are
looking for; we might be worried about who
we have left behind and whether they will
manage without us; we might equally be glad
to be away for a while from responsibilities
and demands.
We need to celebrate that we are here, in this
place, and that God is with us and will bless
us. In his poem The Wild Geese, Wendell Berry
writes, “what we need is here”. The poem
about not looking back constantly regretting,
or assuming that everyone else has something
better or knows more. Wendell Berry has
grasped the truth that God is here… and God
will provide “what we need”.
Notes
13

14
Daily
Devotion
Material (2)
“And when they could not
bring him to Jesus because
of the crowd, they removed
the roof above him; and after
having dug through it, they let
down the mat on which the
paralytic lay.”
Mark 2:4 (NRSV)
Worship which is worthy and which speaks
to those who are present of the ‘worthship’
of God to receive our praise must be worship
which changes us and our world. In her book
Take this Bread (Canterbury Press, 2012), Sara
Miles gives an account of coming to a church
as an atheist non-attender and describes her
first worship service. She talks vividly about the
singing, the movement of people at various
points, being given bread and wine, and
people shaking her hand during the Peace.
During her attendance at her first worship
service as an adult, Sara says, “Jesus happened
to me”.
It does not matter through which medium we
encounter God. Some people meet God in
silence and contemplation, some in energising
singing, some in taught word, some in bread
and wine, or movement such as dance. But
our worship is nothing if we do not encounter
God, and if we are not led or lead others to a
place where Jesus can ‘happen’ to us. Worship
only has value when it gives glory to God and
makes God’s love and grace for us known
to all. Worship should convince and make
believing in God possible.
Notes

Daily
Devotion
Material (3)
“When the day of Pentecost
had come, they were all
together in one place. And
suddenly from heaven there
came a sound like the rush
of a violent wind, and it filled
the entire house where they
were sitting.”
Acts 2:1-2 (NRSV)
The Spirit of God keeps erupting and breaking
out in the world which God made, God loves,
and in which God is constantly present too.
Our worship needs to be such that the flame is
lit in all those present, such that the wind can
rush and fill all those present.
This is not a call for perfection or for the
best PowerPoint, or the best music, although
all our worship skills need constant honing
and developing because God deserves the
best we have and are. The more important
element of our worship is that it is open to the
transforming power of God; to the boldness,
and the riskiness of the Holy Spirit.
To worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24)
is to worship in such a way that anything is
possible. Our worship should invoke and make
possible the overwhelming presence of God’s
spirit so that worshippers know that at its
conclusion they know they cannot sit in church
anymore – they ‘must arise and go’ that the
world might believe.
Notes
15

Local
information
Banks and ATMs
Branches of all major banks are to be found on the four main streets.
The nearest ATMs are just a few metres from the church on Sankey Street.
Post Office
The main Post Office is in the Fish Market area of the Golden Square shopping
precinct.
16
Shops
Golden Square is the main shopping mall with a Debenhams and other High Street
shops. Other shops are to be found in the pedestrianised streets of the town centre.
The smaller Cockhedge Mall is in the road opposite the bus station. Go Outdoors and
Dunelm are to be found on Wilson Patten Street while a branch of Decathlon is about
1 mile north of the town centre on A49.
Chemist: Boots and Superdrug are on Golden Square.
Riverside Retail Park is near Bridgefoot and Alban Retail Park is north of the town
beyond Tescos. Staples is between the Cockhedge Centre and Sainsburys.
Medical attention
NHS Direct is 24 hours a day on 0845 4647
The local hospital has an A&E department and is on Lovely Lane WA5 1QG

Places to see
The Grade I-listed Town Hall in Sankey
Street was built by the Patten family
using proceeds of their mining and
smelting business. The large amounts of
copper in the foundations make them as
valuable as the rest of the building!
The Golden Gates were due to go
to Sandringham House, but as Queen
Victoria was taken to see them at the
International Exhibition of 1862 she
spotted the statue of Oliver Cromwell
nearby and wouldn’t go any closer. They
were returned to the Coalbrookdale
Ironworks and stayed there for many
years until Fred Monks, a Warrington
councillor and businessman, bought
them for the town hall in 1895. They
were gilded in 1977 for the Queen’s
silver jubilee and are Grade II* listed. The
figures on the top are of Nike, goddess
of victory.
The town does not have much outside
modern art but three pieces are of
interest:
• The Guardians - Locally known as
‘the skittles’, this sculpture is by the
American sculptor Howard Ben Tre
and is at Market Gate, the meeting
point of the four main roads in the
town centre.
• River of Life fountain and
paving design commemorating
the Warrington bombing in 1993
is in the top part of Bridge Street.
Two boys were killed and many
people injured in this attack on the
day before Mothering Sunday. Artist
Stephen Broadbent worked with local
school children to design 12 plaques
set into the paving.
• The statue of Brian Bevan outside
the Halliwell Jones stadium about
one mile north of the town centre.
Australian Bevan is the world recordholder
for the number of tries scored
in a rugby league career 796 and is
the only rugby league player in both
the Australian and British Halls of
Fame. Like Einstein and the Beatles
he is one of those people who was
told that he would never make it in
his chosen career – by Leeds rugby
league officials who lived to regret it!
Warrington Library and Museum/Art
Gallery are further down Bold Street
from the church. Saturday opening is
9.00am-4.00pm and 10.00am-4.30om
respectively, but neither not open on
Sundays. There is an extensive local
history section in the library.
17

Ground Floor
BOLD STREET METHODIST MISSION – Ground Floor Plan
Second Floor
Rear Entrance
Limited parking against wall and through opening opposite
18
Disabled
Toilet
Toilet
(F)
Lift
Stairs
Reception
Garage
Assembly
Altar
Kit/Util
Services
Stairs
Cafe
BOLD
STREET
Toilet
(M)
Stairs
Lift
Toilet
(F)
Community Hall
Stairs
ST
Room 2A
Staff
Office
Minister’s
Office
Lobby
Chapel
Vestry
Kit
WC
One Way
Lounge
Kitchen
Room 2B
Walk across
Queen’s Gardens
to Pyramid
Front Entrance
PALMYRA SQUARE NORTH
Disabled parking & time limited parking on road

Map of Warrington www.methodist.org.uk
Key
Bold St
Methodist
Church
Pyramid Arts
Centre, Palmyra
Square South
Map reproduced by kind
permission of Warrington
Borough Council

www.methodist.org.uk/connectedworship
Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR
Tel: 020 7486 5502
www.methodist.org.uk
Registered charity no. 1132208. © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes 2012. Design and Production: Methodist Publishing.