Get Growing
Growing Churches - Growing on church land - Growing with their Community
We are a growing network of churches and community groups! Check out some of our locations.
The Hazelnut Community Network offers resources, training, support and input.
We are designing resources with everything you need to run a session in your garden. They are designed to give you lots of ideas, you can then contextualise them for your community.
Sections will include:
Theme based on the season
Teaching ideas with bible texts and stories
Prayers for use outdoors or in church services
Crafts
Projects to do in the garden
Wellbeing
Big questions based around ecological breakdown
Some examples of the resources we offer!
How can we give new life to things the world sees as rubbish? Learn, reflect and act together using our ‘Rubbish’ themed session!
Experience summer in a new way with our session designed to help take you and your young explorers on an exciting journey this season.
Are you ready to explore the signs of spring? Our interactive and sensory session will bring spring to life like never before!
A session to help you discover the tiny creatures that share your community space - including a small reflection and big eco questions!
A summer session exploring stillness, prayer and encouraging pollinators in your community space
A starter session for your community to spark creativity and blue sky thinking for your community project
Christmas Around the Fire is all about gathering around fire pits and creatively telling the Christmas story. This resource can be used for large groups or small groups. The downloaded version will give you everything you need to run it in your area, from what is required, timings, and script. It’s all here! this resource is like Christingle re-imagined but without the references to Christingle.
The concept of Christingle: re-imagined is to have a Chistingle outside around fire pits. Breathe new life with a creation focus into your Christmas celebrations! The downloaded version will give you everything you need to run it in your area, from what is required, schedule, and script. It’s all here! this resource is like Christmas Around the Fire but with references to Christingle.
Over the last couple of years, we have trained over 200 people on how to start Christian communities based in nature.
Our is training gives you all you need to go from idea to launch. Our training is delivered on Zoom over 4 weeks. It’s a fit for all shapes and sizes.
Here are some examples of what it offers:
Expert advice through lots of Q and A
Starter documents like budgets, safeguarding, and health and safety
How to begin a community garden no matter the experience.
Ideas on how to worship in a garden
Practical ideas for building a successful project
Help with thinking through what your project will look like.
Example of a training session
We know how daunting it can be to start something. That’s the beauty of a network you don’t have to go it alone.
As part of the Hazelnut Community, you will have access to quarterly Zoom meetings to discuss upcoming resources, and how they can be used, and hear other ideas from the network. It’s also a great place for Q and A.
As a member of the Hazelnut Community, you will have access to world-class speakers. Our contributors will speak on a range of Christian eco topics that will broaden your thinking on a range of interesting topics. These sessions will be open to anyone in your community. Below are links to our upcoming contributed as well as some great talks from the past couple of years.
Example of input we offer
FAQs
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We want to keep our costs affordable so that everybody who wants to is able to join. By joining you can access all of our resources, training, support, and input.
Small groups with up to 10 members pay £10 per month.
Churches with up to 30 members pay £25 per month.
Churches with between 30 and 100 members pay £35 a month.
Churches with over 100 members pay £50 a month.
Churches that are multi-church benefices can pay one amount for all of your churches. The amount to be paid is the amount of members across all churches.
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It can take a bit of time to sign up to the network. It takes time speaking to all the right people and organizing a start. With this in mind we have created a template that can be used to help create a proposal paper. This would work well for things like a PCC. At the bottom of this section is a red button that you can click to download the template.
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Through the spring we are holding a number of Zoom info sessions prior to our launch. You can find those dates at the top if this page.
Our official launch date is 6th June 2024!
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The value of new resources, world-class input, support, and training outways the monthly cost.
But there is added value for a church as it saves time in planning for a leader and adds creativity that does not need to be created from scratch.
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Bursaries are available. When signing up there is an option to request a bursary.
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Yes! Hazelnut is a Partner in Action with A Rocha UK, and we are big fans of their work. A Hazelnut Community sits well alongside Eco Church and helps with many of the categories.
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Absolutely. One of our Hazelnut Communities is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The issues we face in ecological breakdown are worldwide. As we face living in these times the conversation must be one of listening and engaging beyond our own contexts. All are welcome.
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We want to equip Christian communities to engage with creator, creation, and community regardless of the amount of land you have. From growing in pots to windowsills we will help you think creatively!
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It will depend on what you aim to do. We encourage groups to start with something manageable and grow as needed. There is very little start-up money needed.
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Then this is perfect for you. We are passionate about empowering people to give it a go. Everyone is welcome from first-time growers to experienced gardeners.
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Our resources are flexible and can fit in with where you are at. You could start as a home group, a monthly group, or bi-monthly. Start with who is keen to join and always welcome people from you community to join as well. Before you know it you will be growing with people who don’t usually come to church.
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No. we want it to be properly ecumenical. Join if you are liberal, conservative, high church, low church, rural, estate, urban, suburban, cathedral, or some keen allotment folks. All are welcome!
