The Next Steps group spent the first part of the meeting engaging with Session 3, Relationships, as part of its previously agreed commitment to complete the LLF Course (login required to the LLF Learning Hub) together.

The group’s attention was drawn to the roll-out of national LLF Facilitation Courses (login required to the LLF Learning Hub). Their aim is to equip people across dioceses to cascade the training to others. So far nine courses had been run and places for forthcoming courses continue to fill up.

The group was updated on the various strands of the ‘Listening to the Whole Church’ process of gathering feedback from people who have engaged with the LLF Course together with others. This included a briefing about the LLF Online Survey and some initial findings from the responses received so far.

The group then focused on the creative strand of ‘Listening to the Whole Church’: people will be invited to respond creatively to the learning and experience of engaging with LLF.  This aims to draw together and relate the LLF experience in a way that is both effective and affective. Creative responses will be gathered via the LLF Hub.

It was then confirmed that 15 people have accepted the invitation to join the Reference Group so far, with a significant proportion of current group members identifying as LGBTI+. Many dioceses have also established their own wider advisory groups.

The group considered the LLF ecclesiology workstream paper. It outlines a three-phase journey, the first phase of which is to produce a resource looking at what it means to be church in the light of LLF.

The group moved on to consider how to engage reflectively and creatively with dioceses in the overarching journey of engaging, discerning and decision-making. There was re-affirmation of the call of LLF to embody ‘a radical new Christian inclusion in the Church – founded in Scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology and the Christian faith as the Church of England has received it’.

The meeting closed in prayer.