Who is this page for?
This page is intended for clergy, school leaders, children, youth and families workers, and volunteers involved in offering Come and See.
This is a growing library that will contain important links to how-to guides for leaders and advance sight of videos and other resources. Sharing the materials with you early means that you can plan and prepare for groups, lessons and Sunday services well in advance.
What's the plan for 2025?
The theme for 2025 is Earth, Water, Wind and Fire - Understanding Baptism. This is a chance for people to explore baptism for the first time or to revisit their own baptism, reflecting on its meaning.
Key dates
Come and See runs through Lent with daily emails and weekly films, the latter forming the main content for parish groups.
The first daily email goes out to individuals on Ash Wednesday (5 March), and they'll run through to the Monday or Tuesday following Easter, 21 or 22 April. The six weekly films are sent out each Sunday, starting from Sunday 9 March, and this year there will be three different options - the videos from Bishop Steven, a video aimed at primary-aged children, and a video aimed at secondary-aged children.
Leaders will receive the full set of videos in early January, to allow time for reflection and planning. You'll also receive promotional materials in December - more on these soon.
How do I get involved?
You can now sign up for the organisers' emails - do that by clicking here. Please note leaders need to sign up again, even if you've done previous years of Come and See.
A webinar was held on 12 September - watch that here or below.
How might Come and See work in my parish?
Across the diocese, Come and See has been run in church services, small groups, schools, prisons, youth groups, online meet-ups, Lent lunches, and more. There are many different ways that you and your parish can work with Come and See.
You can encourage each other to register for the daily emails, you can use the weekly films as part of a talks series, or you can use the dedicated materials for course organisers to offer Come and See to Sunday and small groups.
And don't forget we'll have bespoke resources for children and young people too, aimed at primary-aged and secondary-aged kids, with weekly videos and a contemplative exercise.
The Christian life is something that we do together. What might you and your church offer?
Come and See is a real team effort! The process starts with Bishop Steven - he comes up with the theme and writes six video reflections.
Then our Discipleship team swoop in. Our Discipleship Enablers help develop age-appropriate resources for the family version, and other members of the team provide daily 'pauses' - small actions or prayers for each day of Lent, sent out in the daily emails - as well as helping develop the leaders' guide.
Our Communications team develop the video and audio content in-house, put everything together and make sure it all goes out to the right people at the right time.
And of course, church leaders, both lay and ordained, add their own spin as they deliver Come and See in their parish.
So happy you're back for more! If you're a church leader, we ask that you register afresh on the 2025 organiser list. This keeps our info on where Come and See might be run at a parish level as up-to-date as possible.
If you've previously signed up for the daily emails, or for the weekly children and families emails, we'll automatically sign you up for the same again this year. We've found that once people sign up, they enjoy sticking around over the years, but if this year's isn't for you, you can unsubscribe at any time (there's a little link at the very bottom of each email we send you).
We're in conversations still about how best to produce this. Stay tuned! We will always provide subtitles and transcripts for our video content, and the daily emails are available as both written and audio.
Of course! We know that people have had great success across the diocese running Come and See in loads of different ways.
The guide is adaptable, and the content can be used however best suits you and your group. Why not reach out to your Parish Development Advisor to discuss how it might work best for you?
"The leader's notes and suggestions for conversation worked well, especially helpful as I was new to leading a small group."
Support and advice
Our Parish Development Advisors (PDA) are there to help every parish/benefice, so feel free to contact them at any time about how you can offer Come and See in your church.
Berkshire and City of Oxford - Rhodri Bowen
01865 208 296
rhodri.bowen@oxford.anglican.org
Dorchester (Oxfordshire) - The Revd Charles Chadwick
01865 208 246
charles.chadwick@oxford.anglican.org
Buckinghamshire - The Revd Asa Humphreys
asa.humphreys@oxford.anglican.org