When we first gathered around a table with paints, brushes and a handful of people, I don’t think any of us imagined what would emerge.

There was no grand strategy. No detailed blueprint. Just a sense that creativity mattered, that people needed connection, and that God might be present in the simple act of making something together.

What began with 10 people meeting to paint has grown into a thriving creative community. Some participants had only experimented with art at school or picked up a brush occasionally; others arrive convinced they have no artistic ability whatsoever. Yet around the table those distinctions quickly fade. We are simply people creating, talking, laughing, sharing stories and discovering that we belong.

As a pioneer minister, I am continually struck by how creativity opens doors that traditional church activities sometimes cannot. Art offers a non-threatening space where people can come exactly as they are. There is no pressure to know the right words, hold particular beliefs or fit a certain mould. People arrive carrying grief, anxiety, loneliness, curiosity, faith and doubt. All are welcome.

Each session begins with a simple spiritual reflection connected to the creative theme for the day. It provides a gentle opportunity to pause, reflect and explore deeper questions before we begin creating together. For some, this is their first experience of engaging with faith in a meaningful way; for others, it becomes part of an ongoing journey of discipleship.

In many ways, our Art for Wellbeing community has begun to take on the characteristics of a Fresh Expression of Church.

Not because we set out to create one, but because the hallmarks of Christian community have begun to emerge naturally. Relationships deepen. People care for one another. Stories are shared. Hope is nurtured. Moments of prayer arise. Conversations about meaning and faith happen organically. We discover that God is already at work among us. Discipleship is taking shape in everyday conversations and shared experiences, and we have seen people take significant steps in faith, including baptism and the renewal of baptism vows.

At the heart of these stories is Jesus. Through the power of His Holy Spirit, we have seen lives changed in ways both quiet and profound. People who arrived feeling isolated have found community. Those carrying burdens have discovered hope and peace. As individuals encounter the love and grace of Christ, they begin to see themselves and their future differently. The transformation is not something we create ourselves; it is the work of Jesus, present among us and continuing to draw people to Himself.

The creative process itself can be deeply spiritual. In a culture that often values productivity above all else, art invites us to slow down, pay attention and delight in beauty. It reminds us that we worship a Creator whose first act was not efficiency but creativity.

Again and again I see people surprised by what they are capable of creating. As confidence grows on the canvas, confidence often grows elsewhere too. People begin to see themselves differently. They recognise gifts they did not know they possessed. There is something profoundly hopeful about watching someone discover that they can create beauty.

Another unexpected gift has been the way new leaders have emerged from within the community. This year alone, seven different people have led sessions, sharing their skills, creativity and faith with others. These leaders are not only helping to shape our own community but are also taking what they have learned into other settings, extending the impact far beyond our weekly gatherings.

This year marked a significant milestone as our Art for Wellbeing group was formally recognised as a Fresh Expression of Church. It was a moment of celebration, not because it changed who we are, but because it affirmed what had already been taking shape over the years. The artwork on display at our fourth annual exhibition was remarkable, but what moved me most was not the quality of the paintings. It was the stories behind them. Stories of friendship, resilience, recovery and belonging. Stories of people finding community. Stories of people encountering the transforming love of Jesus and the renewing work of his Spirit.

Fresh Expressions of Church often emerge in unexpected places. Sometimes around a dinner table. Sometimes in a cafe. Sometimes on a housing estate around a paint-splattered table.

As pioneers, we are invited not simply to build new things for God, but to notice where God is already at work and join in. Through colour, canvas and community, I believe that is exactly what we are seeing happen.

The kingdom of God is appearing in brushstrokes, conversations and cups of tea. And that is a beautiful thing to witness.

Hayley Humphreys is an MA graduate of CMS Pioneer Mission Training.

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Harvey Kwiyani named in Top 10 list for outstanding books in mission studies

At CMS many of our staff regularly add books to our library bookshelves – by writing and publishing them. In fact colleagues have published more than 26 books!

One of these books has recently been recognised for a prestigious honour.

In August 2025, Dr Harvey Kwiyani – CMS Pioneer Mission Training African Christianity Programme Lead and Acts 11 Centre Lead – published Decolonizing Mission. Through the book, Harvey traces the history of Christian mission alongside the history of empire, showing the influence that one had on the other. Imagining what mission without imperialism would look like, he sheds light on the connection between colonialism and mission and invites readers to realign missional methods with God’s.

The book has had an international impact and been widely celebrated. Most recently, Decolonizing Mission has been named among the 10 Outstanding Books in Mission Studies, World Christianity, and Intercultural Theology for 2025 by the International Bulletin of Mission Research.

Speaking of receiving this esteemed acknowledgement of the book, Harvey said:

“There are moments in academic life that feel deeply personal, yet clearly point beyond oneself; moments that hint at a wider shift taking place within a discipline. I receive this recognition with genuine gratitude. But more than that, I receive it with a quiet sense of recognition that this is not simply about my work, nor even about one book. It feels, rather, like a sign that a conversation many of us have been carrying for some time – often from the margins, often against the grain – is now being heard more widely.”

Harvey is currently raising funds to publish Decolonizing Mission in Africa, with the aim of making it accessible to pastors, church leaders, teachers, students, and mission practitioners across the continent. If you would like to support this project, you can do so here.

Decolonizing Mission is available from SCM Press and other online book retailers.

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Meet South West Hub student Rachel Harrison-French, who shares her learning about participating in the life of God already at work in the world.

HH: Rachel, where are you based and what you do in your life?

RH-F: I’m based in South Devon and am part of Sherford Community Church, a church serving the growing new town of Sherford on the outskirts of Plymouth. My life sits at the intersection of community work, creativity and church ministry.

Over the past few years, I’ve been involved in several community initiatives focused on food insecurity and community resilience. During the pandemic I worked as a project manager with Feeding Devon, helping coordinate local responses to food poverty and supporting communities to develop sustainable food support projects.

Alongside that, I’ve worked as a teacher and forest school leader. That experience has shaped a lot of how I think about learning, creativity, and how people connect with place and community.

More recently, I’ve been developing my emerging ministry as a worship leader at Sherford Community Church, creating reflective and creative resources that help people engage with Scripture, prayer and worship in ways that are accessible for all ages.

You’ve been on the South West Hub pioneer course. Can you tell me how you got onto the course and what motivated you?

Several strands of my life came together in leading me to the pioneer course.

Through my work as a forest school leader and teacher, I became increasingly interested in how faith connects with everyday life and community spaces. At the same time, my involvement in community food projects opened my eyes to the realities many people were facing locally.

The Pioneer course raised questions that really resonated with me, particularly around rural mission. What does the Missio Dei look like in rural areas? How do we recognise where God is already at work in local traditions, spiritualities, and communities? And how can the church learn from rural communities about issues such as food production, ecology, sustainability, and social justice?

Those questions felt deeply relevant to Devon, and the course provided a space to explore them alongside others who were asking similar questions about mission and church in changing contexts.

Can you cast your mind back to lockdown and your work as a project manager of Feeding Devon? What were some of the highs and lows?

Lockdown was an extraordinary and challenging time for many communities. Through Feeding Devon, we were helping coordinate responses to food insecurity across the region, supporting local groups and connecting organisations working to meet urgent needs.

One of the real highs was seeing how quickly communities mobilised. Volunteers stepped forward, partnerships formed, and churches and community groups found creative ways to support their neighbours.  For example, I was involved in engaging local churches with developing food support strategies, including working alongside the lay pioneer Methodist minister in Horrabridge to help develop an affordable Food Hub, which is now also supported by the local Anglican church. We also supported the development of Food Hubs in several other towns and villages, all of which are now operating as independent organisations relying on local volunteers.

At the same time, the scale of need could sometimes feel overwhelming as many households were facing uncertainty and financial hardship. That experience strengthened my sense that the church has an important role to play in listening to communities and responding practically to the needs that emerge.

How did the pioneer course impact your emerging ministry as a worship leader?

The pioneer course has had a significant impact on how I approach worship and ministry.

One of the most memorable pieces of learning came during a module exploring different expressions of church. As part of the assignment, I created a hand-drawn board game called ‘From Pew to Pavement’. The game explored different “zones” of church life – from the traditional parish setting through to community initiatives and more experimental spaces where faith begins to emerge in places that don’t yet resemble church.

Creating the game helped me see mission less as a programme we run and more as participation in the life of God already at work in the world.

This insight has shaped how I now approach worship at Sherford Community Church. I’ve become more confident in developing creative and participatory forms of worship that engage people of all ages and all the senses. Through the Altogether services at Sherford I’ve had the opportunity to develop ideas collaboratively with our pioneer ministry team, Revs Jon and Tammy Oliver, creating spaces where people can encounter God through storytelling, imagery, reflection, and shared experience.

What does the future hold for you?

Right now, I feel very much in a season of listening and discerning where God might be leading next.

In Sherford, we are continuing to explore how church can respond creatively to the realities of a new and growing community. For example, delays in local facilities meant that access to affordable food became challenging for some families, particularly those working during the day. In response we developed an early evening food club so that households could collect food after work – a small but practical example of adapting to the needs of the local context.

I’m also exploring creative ways that churches can connect with communities through wellbeing, creativity, and outdoor learning. For example, at Sherford Day this year I’ll be offering face painting as a free gift to the community – a simple way of creating relational spaces within a local celebration. Alongside this, I’m currently studying for a Certificate in Therapeutic Skills for Outdoor Leaders. Through this I’m exploring how outdoor learning, emotional wellbeing, and creative practices can support children and young people. My hope is that over time these ideas might develop into accessible resources that churches can use to connect with schools and communities.

At the heart of this work is a simple conviction: creativity, community and the natural environment can become spaces where people encounter God in everyday life.

Finally, how can we pray for you?

Please pray for wisdom and discernment as I continue to explore the next steps in my calling and ministry.

I would also value prayer for churches and communities across Devon as they seek to respond creatively to the needs around them, and for more pioneers to be encouraged and equipped for mission in their local contexts.

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The next cohort of CMS Certificate students in the South West Pioneer Hub has got underway, including a group from Bristol Diocese who shared this report from the first weekend.

Over the last weekend of April, 34 students, eight facilitators and a course chaplain from the dioceses of Bristol, Exeter and Truro gathered at Sclerder Abbey in Cornwall for the first residential weekend and launch of the Church Mission Society (CMS) contextual pioneer mission course.

This first weekend was also the first of six modules that make up the course. The module was focused on ‘What is Pioneer Mission?’ and was facilitated by Jonny Baker, Britain Hub mission director for CMS, and Lindsay Smith, an ordained pioneer minister based in Portishead. The learning was a creative mixture of teaching, self-reflection, conversation, and physical movement, using the outdoor spaces at the abbey. The outside space was particularly helpful when Lindsay shared the Pioneer Spectrum with the students.

The weekend contained plenty of opportunities to reflect, visit the Green Abbey onsite, go for a walk or a nap, or speak with the course chaplain. The three days, perhaps due to their location, had the feel of a combination of a retreat and a learning space and gave time for people from across the South West to make connections, share stories, and learn from and with each other.

Lee Barnes, Bristol’s diocesan adviser for Curacy & Fresh Expressions of Church, said:

“It was exciting to see the Bristol cohort of students engaging in this new partnership with CMS. The beautiful sunny weather was an added bonus to what was already a weekend with a great atmosphere, energy and engaged conversations.”

On the Sunday morning, the group headed to a local beach and gathered there for a time of reflective worship and wandering.

One of the students said:

“I am excited to see where all these people will take their learning and what will emerge as a result. It’s really good to be part of that adventure!”

Another shared:

“It feels like I have been stretched and inspired, also, I have found my tribe.”

If you would like to know more about the course or if you would like to register your interest in a course next year,

• in Bristol Diocese, email Lee.Barnes@bristoldiocese.org
• in Exeter Diocese, email Jeremy.Putnam@exeter.anglican.org
• in Truro Diocese, email Lindsey.Morgan-Lundie@trurodiocese.org.uk

Republished with kind permission of the Diocese of Bristol

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Dr Gavin Mart recently completed his DTh exploring ultrarunning as a site of spiritual encounter. He is now working with the Methodist Church and the Church in Wales, helping to practically develop these ideas across outdoor, community enterprise and pioneering contexts.

Dr Cathy Ross, lecturer and tutor with CMS Pioneer Mission Training talks to Gavin about his doctoral research experience.

Cathy: First of all, congratulations. How does it feel to have completed the DTh?

Gavin: It still feels slightly unreal. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve done, so thanks for being a great supervisor! But it’s also one of the most stretching in terms of how I think and see the world.

The doctorate didn’t just give me answers. It changed the questions I’m asking.

What led you to study this area?

I’d completed both the FdA (Foundation degree in Arts) and MA in Pioneer Mission through CMS and was keen to attempt to answer some of my own research questions. The starting point was very simple. I was already involved in outdoor community and endurance sport, and I kept noticing that people were having profound experiences, myself included. Awe, connection, even moments of what they described as something “bigger than themselves”.

But there was almost no theological language to engage with that.

At the same time, a sports ministry report highlighted a lack of in-depth theological thinking in sport and wellbeing contexts, particularly at ground level. Practice had moved ahead, but theology had not kept up.

That gap became the focus. What is actually happening in these environments, and how might theology respond to it?

So what did you discover?

The core discovery is this:

Ultrarunning can function as a site of spiritual encounter.

Not in a forced or imposed way, but through embodied experience. Through endurance, suffering, landscape and community.

People consistently described moments of awe, surrender and connection, even if they didn’t use religious language. Statements like, “I’m not religious, but I pray when I run,” came up repeatedly.

So, the thesis doesn’t claim that every experience is spiritual. It asks how we might interpret these experiences theologically, and what it means to take them seriously.

That sounds quite different from traditional approaches to mission.

Yes, it shifts the starting point.

Instead of asking, “How do we bring people into church?” it asks, “Where is meaning already happening?”

I draw on John V Taylor here, a former Anglican bishop and missiologist whose work focused on recognising the activity of the Spirit beyond the boundaries of the institutional church. In 1959 he became Africa Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, and in 1963 he succeeded Max Warren as its General Secretary, remaining in post until 1974. His thinking was significant because it gave theological permission to take seriously what is happening in the wider world, not just within church structures.

He describes the Spirit in very physical terms, in the strain of muscles, in the contact between people, in what happens between us.

That opens up a different posture. Not imposing meaning, but noticing where something is already unfolding.

Can you give an example from your research?

One runner described what he called “the crack” around 60 miles into a 100-mile race. A point where something in him gave way.

After that, he spoke about feeling like he was between two worlds, even sensing the presence of dead relatives. He didn’t frame it as belief. He described it as experience.

Others spoke about moving through the night and emerging changed, not necessarily stronger, but clearer.

Rather than deciding whether that is “spiritual” or not, I explore how traditions like the mystics might interpret it. There are clear resonances with ideas like the dark night of the soul and transformation through endurance.

The key is not to reduce the experience, but to take it seriously.

What implications does this have for pioneer ministry?

It suggests a different way of engaging.

I describe something I call the “adventurous pause”. A moment of attentiveness before we rush to explain or act.

In that pause, we begin to notice what is already happening. How people are searching for meaning, how community forms through care and hospitality, how environments shape encounter.

Pioneer ministry, in that sense, becomes less about creating something new, and more about recognising what is already there and joining in with it.

You also explore community and digital culture. What did you find there?

There’s an interesting tension.

In ultrarunning, you see very raw forms of community. People helping each other at their weakest, often without any shared belief system. There is a kind of radical hospitality that emerges naturally.

But then that experience is translated online.

One participant said, “If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen.”

There’s a kind of modern confession and affirmation loop. We offer the experience up and wait to be recognised.

You might describe this as being alone together. Connected, but not fully known.

So, you get this split between embodied, real experience and its digital reflection, I find this area of research fascinating.

What happens next for you?

The work doesn’t feel finished.

If anything, it feels like it’s opening out.

I’m working on a consultancy basis now both with church organisations and those interested in community wellbeing and enterprise development, and beginning to explore how this kind of attentive, embodied approach can take shape in practice.

What’s becoming clear is that many organisations sense something is shifting culturally, but don’t yet have a framework for engaging it. They can see that people are searching for meaning, but they are not sure how to respond.

That’s where this work is starting to land.

And if people want to explore this further?

I’m already in conversations with churches and organisations who are asking similar questions, particularly in outdoor, wellbeing and community contexts, but also organisations who want to change their approach and posture in the community.

Sometimes organisations want to reimagine their building as an events or creative enterprise space, sometimes they want to get out of the building altogether and venture more meaningfully into the community.

More and more, leaders are asking not how to attract people in, but how to recognise what is already happening and respond well.

This research is really just a starting point for that kind of work.

Find out more about doctoral research with CMS and the University of Roehampton.

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In this month’s student interview, we meet a first year undergraduate from Africa, who lives and works in a minority context, so they remain anonymous.

Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed, could you tell me more about your calling to work on an island?

The call wasn’t a single moment, but a growing “burden of love”. While serving on the mainland in my home town, reaching out to the Masai people in a remote area in a bush village, my wife and I felt a persistent pull toward the unreached coastal communities. We spent months in prayer with our local church, and the more we looked at the spiritual and social needs of the island, the more we realised we couldn’t just visit; we had to move our lives there to truly be a “faithful presence”.

I think it is right to say your work is in education and skills. I understand, for example, that you help people to make shoes and support themselves through workshops. Please could do tell us about the friendships formed and your achievements?

The real achievement isn’t just a finished pair of shoes; it’s the dignity in a student’s eyes when they realise they can provide for their own family. These workshops create a “neutral ground” where barriers drop. I’ve found that when you sit together over a sewing machine, you aren’t strangers anymore – you are friends sharing life’s struggles. Those friendships have become the bedrock of everything we do.

And now you have developed this work and have started a foundation. Could you tell us more?

We are now in the process of registering the foundation and it has not been launched yet. By moving from an informal mission to a registered foundation, we will gain “institutional trust” with the government. This will allow us to own property, hire staff legally and show the community that we aren’t just passing through – we are committed to the long-term flourishing of the island.

What exciting fruits have come from this venture?

The most encouraging “fruit” is seeing local people take ownership of their new life in Christ through faith. For example, seeing a leader from a local village choose to follow this path and then open his home for others to learn is incredible. Also, seeing our local young student from this island finish his studies to come back and lead is a huge milestone for us. It means the work is becoming truly indigenous.

That’s wonderful, people coming back to lead. Please do tell us other ways that your work is indigenous?

I do this by looking at our ‘local ways of doing things’ and asking how we can mature them into lasting spiritual and operational health. Through the CMS training, I am learning to move beyond just ‘pioneering’ into a season of rebuilding and reform. By establishing the new foundation, we are creating professional management structures that don’t stifle the Spirit, but rather provide a strong ‘trellis’ for the vine of our local community to grow on sustainably.

That is great. How can we pray for you?

You can pray for us:

​For the homecoming:

Pray for our local Muslim background believer, a disciple who went to theological studies in mainland, returned from Bible school in Dar es salaam; that he would integrate well and lead with wisdom as he joins our team full-time.

​For the foundation and future island empowerment centre:

Pray for the final registration steps of the foundation. Once this is complete, it will allow us to legally own the land for our permanent Community Empowerment Centre – a huge step for our sustainability.

​For protection and provision:

For continued favour with our neighbours and peace in our community. Specifically, pray for our family as we parent our young children in this context, and for provision regarding their school fees for the coming term.

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In a significant answer to prayer, a project in Cumbria that connects with people on the margins through practical hands-on workshops re-opened at the end of February 2026.

In October 2025, Carlisle’s Community Shed was forced to close for financial reasons. The team, including mission partner Garry Ion, moved the contents of the Shed into a storage unit.

Following an outcry in the local community and a special fundraising effort, the Shed has reopened its doors. Once again, people living with loneliness and mental health challenges, including people recently released from prisons, can find invaluable support.

Garry shares that the new shed is even better than the old one: “We have a spacious workshop and social area with sofas and an indoor games area.

“The original shed started in a garage during the COVID lockdown by myself and Pioneer Chaplain, Rev Chris Harwood. This time, the local community’s involvement, commitment and determination have driven its reopening.

“The new Community Shed is in a very underprivileged area of Carlisle, and it’s truly heartwarming to see the generosity and time given by the community to support its future. We have so much to be grateful for as we begin this new chapter together.”

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Save the date

The face of Christianity in Britain is changing fast, and it’s a lot more exciting than the headlines suggest.

We’d love you to join CMS and the Acts 11 Centre for Global Witness and Human Migration in Liverpool (or online) 4–5 September 2026.

Named after the first multicultural church in the Bible, Acts 11 is a space where we explore the beautiful, messy and life-giving ways that migration is shaping our faith today.

The Mission and Migration conference isn’t just a series of lectures; it’s a conversation about how we live and worship together. We’ll be looking at how historic UK churches and vibrant diaspora congregations can move past “polite distance” into true, equal partnership.

Whether you’re leading a church, working on the ground, or just curious about how faith crosses borders, come and join us.

With keynote insights from Dr Alex Chow and Dr Sheila Akomiah-Conteh, we’ll dive into the real-world joys and challenges of doing mission side-by-side.

• When: 4–5 September 2026
• Where: Liverpool and online
• Who: Mission leaders, practitioners, and anyone ready to see the church through fresh eyes.

Take part

Save the date – booking opens soon. Sign up for the Acts 11 newsletter to be notified

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• See all events

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Have you ever felt a “holy discomfort”? That nagging sense that God is calling you to serve, but perhaps not in a way that fits into a traditional Sunday morning box?

Recently, I stood in the Bishop of Exeter’s Palace to celebrate with a group of people who felt exactly that. I love that pioneer training with CMS doesn’t just happen in Oxford or in one single place. It’s happening – and growing – across the UK.

The latest CMS Pioneer Graduation gathered students from across the South West, including Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

The palace was filled with creativity, warmth and joy. There were interactive worship displays, beautiful sung worship led by a harpist, moving student testimonies, lots of delicious food and, of course, as befits a celebration, much cake.

A celebration of community 

This was more than simply a celebration of completing a course or receiving a certificate. Again and again, students spoke about finding a home. They spoke about finally discovering a language for what they had sensed God calling them to for years. They found a way of looking at mission – a missiology – that made sense of the places they were serving, and training that helped them do what they do with greater confidence, wisdom and courage.

That is one of the great gifts of pioneer training. It names and nurtures what God is already stirring. It helps people understand that mission does not only happen in familiar church settings, but also out at the edges – in the overlooked places, among those who may never walk into a church building, in communities where fresh expressions of Christian witness and discipleship are needed.

Some of the creative demonstrations of work by graduating students

Jesus calls us to the edges with him 

I had the privilege of sharing a few words during the celebration, and I found myself returning to a theme that has been growing in me for some time: Jesus as the Great Disturber.

That might sound like an odd thing to say at a graduation, but I think it fits. Jesus has always had a habit of lovingly disturbing people into new possibilities. That disturbance is not there to crush us, but to awaken us. It is often how mission begins.

Because pioneering is not first about having all the answers, having a perfect plan, or building something impressive. Pioneering begins with a willingness to follow Jesus into places that are unfamiliar, overlooked, risky, and sometimes uncomfortable. And that is right at the heart of CMS.

You may not always feel ready. You may not always feel confident. Some days you may feel small, uncertain, or underqualified. But the good news is this: God has always loved working through ordinary people who say yes.

And as I said to the graduating students: “Your ‘yes’ matters. So, as you graduate, don’t just think, ‘I’ve finished something.’ Think, ‘I’m being sent.’”

Rt Rev Mike Harrison, Bishop of Exeter, and I handed out certificates to around 24 students, each one representing a story of faithfulness, courage and calling.

As ever, the certificates only told part of the story.

The real story is what comes next: the communities that will be served, the conversations that will be had, the experiments that will be tried, the friendships that will be formed, the prayers that will be whispered, the people who will encounter Jesus in new ways because these pioneers said yes to his call.

Are you being called to something new? Find out about training with CMS

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UK: Pioneer Mission Training programme

CMS is hosting two open days next week: on-site in Oxford on Tuesday 21 April and online on Wednesday 22 April. These events are designed to help prospective students explore CMS Pioneer Mission Training options, including streams focused on African Christianity, Asian Christianity, children’s, family and youth work. Pray for people to attend these open days and see how the training could make a difference to their ministry. Find out more and book your place at https://churchmissionsociety.org/open

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Explore the challenges of the multicultural church, how we can overcome them and discover hope too.

About the webinar

The future of both the church and mission is undeniably multicultural – shaped by migration, global Christianity, and shifting cultural realities. Yet for many leaders, this future feels more complicated than hopeful. Why is that?

In this webinar, Harvey Kwiyani, CMS Pioneer Mission Training African Christianity Programme Lead and lecturer, explores the deeper challenges beneath the surface of “diversity,” including questions of power, belonging, leadership, and theology.

Drawing on his wider work on cultural diversity and decolonising mission, he will offer a fresh vision for understanding cultural difference not as a problem to solve, but as a gift to receive – alongside practical insights for leading churches into a more shared, participatory life in God’s mission.

Dr Harvey Kwiyani

Harvey is African Christianity Programme Lead and Acts 11 Centre Lead.

He is a Malawian missiologist and theologian who has lived, worked and studied in Europe and North America for the past 20 years.

He has researched African Christianity and African theology for his PhD, and taught African theology at Liverpool Hope University.

Harvey is also founder and executive director of Missio Africanus, a mission organisation established in 2014 as a learning community focused on releasing the missional potential of African and other minority ethnic Christians living in the UK.

• See all pioneer events

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An invitation to a mountain retreat

by Johnny Sertin

2 April 2026

For over 20 years now, a small community I am part of has been learning how to live with a different kind of rhythm. Not one dictated by urgency, productivity, or the constant churn of modern life – but one shaped by the seasons.

Year by year, we have found a cadence to personal and family life by paying attention to what already exists: the quiet wisdom of the natural world, the turning of the seasons, the rites they invite us into, and the organic liturgies that emerge when we slow down enough to notice. These rhythms don’t need to be invented; they are already there, waiting to be received, inhabited, and lived.

Out of this way of life, something else has grown.

Alongside my friend Paul Rose, I have been hosting mountain retreats in the beautiful surroundings of the Lake District. In the years since COVID, these spaces have taken on an even deeper significance. There is, it seems, a growing need for people to step out of the noise and ask more attentive, more discerning questions of their lives:

• Where am I?
• How am I?
• Who am I being called to be?

These are not questions to be rushed.

They are questions that require space – space to walk, to breathe, to listen.

Our retreats draw on the Ignatian tradition of spiritual formation, where attention, awareness, and discernment sit at the heart of the journey. Over a couple of days, we take a small, circular pilgrimage through the fells – guided by Paul, a qualified mountaineer, and accompanied by me. The mountains have a way of becoming more than just a backdrop; they become a teacher.

Nature offers insights we often cannot access elsewhere – truths that only surface when we are fully present to our surroundings.

And, of course, the mountains do not bend to our plans. The weather will do what it will. There are moments of challenge, even struggle – and moments of breathtaking beauty and uplift. Both matter. Both shape us. Both have something to say about who we are and who we are becoming.

Equally important to the walking is the welcome.

Hospitality sits at the heart of what we offer. We are always beautifully looked after by the Home Community Cafe in Earlsfield, led by Meg Fry and her wonderful team, who nourish us with food prepared with care and generosity.

This year, we’ll be gathering in slightly more comfortable surroundings than the mountain huts we’ve used in the past. We’ll be based at the Rydal Hall bunkhouse – a cluster of cottages designed for groups like ours to come together. It offers a simple but rich rhythm: walking in the day, and in the evening, gathering around wood fires with good food, conversation, and rest.

If you are new to retreating, you would be most welcome. If you are someone who already loves the outdoors and recognises it as a place of encounter and reflection, we would love to have you join us again. Everyone is welcome!

You’ll need a reasonable level of fitness to take part in the walking, but you certainly don’t need to be a seasoned mountaineer – just open, willing, and curious.

If something in you is stirring as you read this, we’d encourage you to pay attention to that.

For more information and to register, please take a look at the flyer and follow the Eventbrite link.

Places are limited!

Take part

Cost: £150 per person
A subsidised rate is available if needed – please do ask. We do not want anyone to miss out.

Book now via eventbrite Download flyer

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