Group Leader Page
The Pathways of Prayer course is designed to have a weekly meeting for people to share thoughts and pray together. When we ran this the first time, those people that attended a meeting instead of just doing the course by themselves had a much higher chance of finishing the course, and got a lot more out of it.
The weekly meetings are an opportunity to come together and support each other, share different perspectives, and spend some time in prayer together. It can be very helpful for someone new to prayer to hear other people talking about their struggles, or to hear about other people’s moments of inspiration.
Every group has to have a facilitator who brings the group together, reads up the material in advance, and makes the practical arrangements for the meeting. A good facilitator can do even more than this, creating a safe space for people to share, making sure that everyone has a turn to speak, and demonstrating the kind of open attitude you want everyone to bring.
To help you run the group we have produced a leader’s guide which helps you to decide how to run the group online, and walks through session by session with the readings, questions to ask and prayer focus. There’s also lots of information on the Pastoral Ministry Office website about running parish groups online.
You can pre-register for the course now, and the content will be released as we approach Ash Wednesday. Please note that you will receive a confirmation email from us – which may end up in your spam! Feel free to explore and find out a bit more about the course, and download your leader’s guide. We will email you when the course opens.
How do I get started?
- Register for the course below.
- Download the leaders’ guide.
- Have a chat with your parish priest about getting a group off the ground. Fix up a time and day.
- If you are happy with tech, you can set up a (free) Eventbrite event so that people can register for your group. Alternatively they can email the parish office, or directly to you if you are happy to share your email address. Make sure you figure out how to collect people’s email addresses before advertising!
- Use the wording below for your parish newsletter/email and send personal invitations to friends and parishioners who would enjoy it.
- Set up your meeting on zoom (or however you’re going to host the group) and send the link out just before.
- Commit everything to prayer, and go for it!
How to advertise your group?
Newsletter/website/parish news insert:
Have you ever wanted to pray more regularly but don’t know how to start? Or perhaps you would like to find some new ways of praying? Join a group of us from the parish as we come together for the Diocese’s new Pathways of Prayer. No previous experience needed! Our meetings will be on XX day at XX time. Contact xxx to join the parish group, and register for the course here: https://formationpathways.co.uk.
Email to a friend:
Hi x
I’m getting a group together in the parish to do the new course from the diocese: Pathways of Prayer. I think it might be right up your street, especially after the year it’s been. We’re going to meet on XX day at XX time. Check out the course website https://formationpathways.co.uk and let me know if you’d be interested.