Rev. Mandy Renolds writes: “I attend the North East Lancashire Unitarian Mission (NELUM) General Committee meetings whenever I can. Our Chapel [Kendal] is the only one in Cumbria, so we are very much ‘outliers’. It is a fair old drive particularly on a winter’s evening, but important to maintain the contact with and feel part of our District. At the Committee meeting on 10 November 2025 Rev. Tina Gandhi, mindful that there was the need for Lay Preachers and Non-Unitarian Ministers to have access to support, proposed that there should be a local one-day gathering, hosted and facilitated by Unitarian College. The idea was that through practical workshops, reflective sessions and shared learning with time for mutual encouragement we would feel encouraged and inspired. NELUM agreed to fund the event.

After discussion with Unitarian College the date and venue was set – Saturday 13th June at Walmsley Unitarian Chapel, Bolton – with lunch provided. Expressions of interest were invited by January with a poster going up on the Chapel noticeboard and in edition 171 of Connections as well as being promoted in the News From Chapel weekly emails. I registered for it early on and then forgot about it although every so often when I looked ahead in my diary, I noted that it was coming up. I wondered if I would still be free to attend by then but I was, and travelled down by car with Helen and Nick after we sorted out a car share. To be honest I had forgotten who else at Chapel had signed up for it. I wasn’t feeling at all excited about it either, but hoped that it would be worthwhile. The three of us got there bright and early having made an early start from Kendal. I was surprised and pleased to see Phil there too. Of course – public transport and a bike will get one to many places with a bit of careful planning and determination!

The day exceeded my expectations. There was a good mixture of activity. We began with coffee before moving into the Chapel for worship led by Rev Ant Howe from Unitarian College. He was also organist so there was a bit of dashing back and forth to the lectern which was handled effortlessly. We moved to the schoolroom and began with a check in. I made a careful note of everyone’s names and where they were from and can still picture where everyone was sitting in the big circle. If I hadn’t done this it would have been in one ear and straight out the other however hard I tried!

One of the things we did was to stand in a timeline – the newest to Unitarianism at one end and the longest the other. I found myself about half way down the line (16 years ago) near Andrew from Scarborough and Phil. After lunch we paired up by day and month of birth before going out on a ‘Credo Walk’ having been given a prompt question of ‘what keeps your spirit alive and well?’ I enjoyed a walk outside with Louise from Newcastle upon Tyne. We were in other small groups for practical exercises such as discussing the sort of questions that people are asking at the moment and then later on we were asked to think about the elements we could bring into a service and the format of it. In my group the theme was ’The Rising Cost of Living’. At one point we were put on the spot and asked to spend five minutes writing a welcome, chalice lighting or blessing. I came up with this:

‘What is it that you bring with you this morning?
Is your heart heavy or is it bursting with joy?
Let us be here for each other.
Let us give and receive according to where we are right now
for it is that feeling of connection which nourishes our souls’

I am so glad that I went. What I took away from the day was how much commitment and passion there is in our small denomination. New people are joining, Unitarian College is providing high quality training and it is possible to stay rooted in our tradition and free to explore new ways of being together. It is hoped that there will be more training days in the future. If you lead Services or are thinking about it I would recommend it. One person I spoke to early in the day had only taken one so far, but I sense that he would go down very well at Kendal. Perhaps Nick has already booked him for next year!

Rev. Mandy Reynolds