Portsmouth SACRE
Grant Awarded 2021-22 £2385
Portsmouth SACRE were awarded a grant to increase teachers’ subject knowledge about the diversity of Christian beliefs, values and ways of worship (and to be able to apply this knowledge in a way that fits their own local school community). The project aimed to improve teachers’ understanding of this diversity through workshops and interactive discussions, develop a mutually supportive community of learning. produce a set of resources that teachers can share with others, and create a network of speakers that can be used by schools going forward.
Further information:
This event took place in Portsmouth Cathedral in October 2022 as a result of work with:
- Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral Team
- University of Chichester Theology department
- Hampshire LA Inspector/Adviser for RE
- Chair of Portsmouth SACRE
- Church of England Diocesan Lead for RE and Spirituality
- A range of speakers on Roman Catholic, High Anglican, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Orthodox Christianity
- A selection of Portsmouth and local area primary teachers.
The event consisted of a series of presentations and workshops, with a chance for teachers to ask questions and to consider how to apply this in their own local setting. After the event, resources were signposted to help the teachers teach others in their schools.
Reflections on impact:
“My main take-away from the afternoon was the input from the Orthodox speaker as I didn’t know very much about them, it was especially interesting in the light of the war in Ukraine. I remember she talked about how some of the tensions were spilling over into the churches.
I’ve definitely been focussing more on diversity within Christianity in the UK in my training with schools – previously we’d always talked about Christianity as a global religion and I’d encouraged then to use images and stories from Christians in India or South America, but not so much about different expressions of Christianity in Britain. I’m encouraging schools to try to arrange speakers from different Christian traditions, not just the local vicar and visits to a range of churches, not just the local Anglican, but Methodist or Catholic or whatever’s on their doorstep, so they’re more aware of the variety. It fits really well with the Worldviews approach to RE.”
By Jane Kelly Church of England Diocesan Adviser for RE and Spirituality for Portsmouth and Winchester
“I noticed that as we all shared our Christian faith and practices the teachers became much more confident in exploring Christianity more widely. The result of this was I have been invited into schools for interfaith days to bring a more Anglo Catholic perspective to their teaching on Christianity.
The question “What is a Monstrance?” still stays with me but this question opened up broader discussions around the variety of religious practices.
There was also a point where all our denominations converged with what we have in common with our Christian faith which was really special as we explored the Golden Threads together.”
By Reverend Sam Duddles Team Vicar of Saint Nicholas Church; Deanery Youth Chaplaincy Coordinator, Chair of Portsmouth SACRE and Rector of SCP Portsmouth with Winchester
“This day has become the foundation for my training with teachers on all courses in many ways. On the day I was struck by the beauty of the many different ways that Christians spoke about their faith and the many wonderful ways that they shared their faith within their own community. It was very clear to teachers that while Christian communities had many beliefs, stories and traditions in common, they also differed in how they expressed these which created a really fascinating exploration of Christianity with the teachers. Following that day, rather than speaking about the one religion which we might call “Christianity”, I now speak about Christian traditions instead of using the term Christianity and I share the similarities first and then go on to explore the many ways that Christian denominations vary in expression. Like Jane, I now look for diversity on my doorstop and not from far away and feel this has created far more interest in the local Christian churches than it would have done before this training. The ripples from this day are there to see now in all the training I do on Christian traditions.
By Justine Ball Hampshire County Inspector/Adviser for RE and History