Christian Resources Exhibition to visit Solihull

On Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 November, the Christian Resources Exhibition will come to Solihull. Over two days, over 150 organisations will offer expert advice on everything from church heating to church seating, from pianos to preaching aids and from computers to clergy clothing.

Supporting the exhibition, a 50-strong programme of talks will cover practical subjects such as fund-raising, faith-sharing, building-maintenance, overseas mission and more. Speakers include Bishop Mike Royal (General Secretary of Churches Together in England) on racial justice; Revd Cassius Francis on bereavement; Roger Jones on worship; Andy Henner on church fabric and Lara Talabi on resources for children.

Mission on the Map will bring together a dozen mission agencies working nationally and internationally, including World Outreach, BMS World Mission, Transform Europe Network, Mission Assist, Formission College, Teach Beyond, Scripture Union, France Mission, Church Mission Society and OMF. ‘It’s easy to presume that CRE is just about the maintenance of local churches,’ said event director Brett Pitchfork. ‘However, from our earliest days in the 1980s, mission has been at the heart of our agenda, too, and we are delighted to give it an even greater focus at CRE Midlands 23.’

Rock star Rick Wakeman will officially open CRE Midlands 23 at 10.00am on Wednesday 8 November. Famous for his piano arrangement of hymn ‘Morning Has Broken,’ a worldwide hit for Cat Stevens, Wakeman was a Sunday School teacher before attending the Royal College of Music in the 1960s. He became a member of top bands The Strawbs and YES, before recording his own progressive rock solo albums. Awarded a CBE for services to music and broadcasting in 2021, Wakeman will be interviewed by Peter Wooding, son of Dan Wooding, a Christian journalist, author and close friend of Wakeman’s from the late 1960s until his death in March 2020. Dan Wooding, who was raised in Birmingham, wrote a biography of his friend in the 1970s under the title ‘Rick Wakeman: The Caped Crusader.’ Rick will be joined by the BIG Sing Choir, which scored a hit with judges on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ earlier this year.

The exhibition will be open from 10.00am to 5.00pm on Wednesday 8 November and from 10.00am to 4.30pm on Thursday 9 November. Full details of the CRE Midlands event can be found HERE. Claim your FREE entrance ticket (£8 on the door) via THIS LINK.

Details of how to reach Cranmore Park by cycle, rail, bus or car can be found HERE. For those travelling by car, free parking is available at the venue.