Manchester clergy study days on Luke in Year C

Last week I was privileged to be invited by the Lord Bishop of Manchester to lead two study days for his clergy and ministers with stipendiary/full-timers in the Cathedral on Monday 14th October, and a smaller session for self-supporting ministers, Licensed Lay Ministers, chaplains, and others free on Sunday afternoon, 13th October. This system allowed a total of some 325-350 to attend, and I enjoyed both days immensely – not least seeing the Cathedral packed out with those responsible for leading ministry throughout the Diocese.

Very heartening to see the Cathedral so full; Bishop David seems to have inspired his clergy to a culture of life-long learning

As well as my honorary research fellowship at the University of Manchester, I am delighted and honoured to hold the Bishop’s Permission to Officiate in the Diocese, so it was good to be able to do something to help them develop their understanding of the gospels. Both days were kindly introduced by the Rt Rev’d Dr David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, who was keen that everyone should spend some time preparing to preach the gospel which would be read each Sunday in the coming liturgical year!

I have to admit that I love being on my feet in front of groups of ministers and people keen to lean and grow in faith and understanding. After years – decades even! – of solitary research and bashing away at writing on my laptop, it is great to see how it can result in light-bulbs coming on in people’s heads and their enthusiasm to learn! I find it very exciting when ‘the penny drops’ and people realise something new arising out of books like the gospels which they have known for years.

Taking advantage of the Revised Common Lectionary focussing on Luke’s gospel for the main Sunday readings throughout the new church year from Advent 2024 to the end of November 2025, both days focussed on how the gospel readings work systematically through St Luke’s gospel. I provided a handout analysing the major blocks of sequential readings from Luke: first, Advent to Christmas, then Epiphany to Lent, and finally the long concerted exposition of Luke chapters 9 to 20 in Ordinary Time, from Trinity Sunday to the end of Nov 2025. The handout is available for download from here. In the sessions, I tried to link various Sundays together where the readings reflect the various themes which Luke is particularly keen to stress, such as Jesus’ concern for the marginalised, the poor and women, Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, and other non-Jews, as well as his interests in poverty and wealth, and in prayer and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Bishops of Manchester and of Middleton were actually following it all closely – on both days! Meanwhile I enjoyed individual conversations with various old friends who turned up among the clergy present.

I also provided a full bookstall of most of my publications – which did a roaring trade, and even sold out of all the various books about the gospels, their genre, and interpretation! It is always interesting when someone brings me a copy of one of my books asking me to sign it for them; I usually try to find out a little about the particular form that their ministry takes, and how they expect to use my book in it, and chat about it with them. That’s such an encouragement for me to get back to writing all the articles and books that I owe various publishers . . .

The bookstall actually ran out of my big updated PhD book – and others were still signing up to get a copy sent to them!

Showing Bishop David the photo of him presiding online at Communion in my book on the topic!

The Diocese also provided lots of lovely refreshments, so that the Sunday afternoon began with a lunch, and ran through to tea-time with cake, while Monday morning started with coffee on arrival, and concluded with lunch being served for everyone. These breaks also allowed for the various ministers to catch up with each other, or to nab a bishop or archdeacon about something – while I found myself being bombarded with various questions and discussions about what I had been saying – some of which were very taxing indeed, as well as very enjoyable!

If any readers of this blog and website would like to encourage their diocese or bishop to book me for a similar event (either about Luke’s gospel, or on one of my other current topics, such as being biblical about human sexuality – a hot topic today!) in the weeks and months ahead, please do let me know. You can read about booking me for a lecture or study day here and you can contact me through the booking and contact pages.

I am very grateful to Gemma Gardiner and her colleagues from the Manchester Diocesan Communications Team for all the hard work in making it all go so well, especially James Newman for taking all the photographs and for permission to reproduce them on my website – and many more of his wonderful pics can be seen here for Sunday and here for Monday 14th Oct.