Church leaders and social action teams are invited to join a four-week Radical Welcome course to begin to explore how we can be not only more inclusive, but ‘radically welcoming’ to everyone in our communities.
We’ll be guided through four one-hour sessions by course facilitator Warren Hartley, meeting at Christ Church Norris Green, part of Christ Our Hope, from 7.30pm-8.30pm on Oct 6th and 20th, and Nov 3rd and 17th.
The course is suitable for church leaders and leadership teams of any denomination, size or tradition in the Diocese of Liverpool area.
Participants will be encouraged to consider all issues of inclusion and access including disability, mental health, poverty, race, LGBTQIA+, gender, and neurodiversity.
Warren will facilitate four sessions using Radical Welcome course materials from Inclusive Church to explore:
- How did we get here – An opportunity for people to get to know one another, to reflect on the nature and identity of their church – and begin to identify how inclusive it is.
- Remembering Exclusion – Reflecting on our own memories of exclusion and the experiences of others as a basis for considering: ‘What does it mean to be welcomed?’
- How radical are we in our welcome? To help people begin to see how being Radically Welcoming might impact in their context.
- The journey to Radical Welcome – Exploring where our church is on the journey to Radical Welcome – are we inviting, inclusive or radically welcoming? We kook forwards to the next steps churches may wish to take.
We will explore the power of language and how seemingly small actions such as using ‘big print’ service sheets, or changing a notice board, can make a huge difference to promoting inclusivity.
Joseph Cottrell, Social Action Development Lead for Together Liverpool, said: “All churches think that they are welcoming and friendly; Radical Welcome encourages and enables your church to think through its welcome from the perspective of being truly inclusive.
“The aim is for churches to use the course as a first step to develop their own pathway, and further resources will be signposted relevant to support these journeys.”
This is a four-week course with sessions running from 7.30pm-8.30pm every other week from Oct 6th.
Attending this course will help churches understand how to:
- Transform, Don’t Just Invite: Polite inclusion expects newcomers to fit in; radical welcome means the church is willing to be changed and reshaped by them.
- Share Real Power: True welcome goes beyond inviting marginalized groups to attend—it gives them an equal voice in leadership, worship, and decision-making.
- Lead with Empathy: Members connect their own memories of feeling excluded to the way they design the church’s physical, social, and spiritual spaces.
- Face the Fear of Change: Building a diverse community requires leaning into the discomfort of losing familiar traditions rather than avoiding difficult conversations.
Each one hour session will include some teaching, reflections and activities. Refreshments including tea, coffee and biscuits will be available.
