The Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough held its recent study day at the Lakeside Conference Centre, part of the National Agri-Food Innovation Campus (NAFIC), which saw the Bishop of Middlesbrough visit the York-based venue. A central location and exclusive access saw organisers bill the event a success and has led to two further bookings for the centre.
More than 200 clergy and parishioners from the Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough attended the study day, making it the largest learning and development event that the Lakeside Conference Centre has held to date.
Delegates were welcomed by the Bishop of Middlesbrough himself to kick off a day full of seminars with prominent members of the clergy. The main aim of the event was to inspire attendees and provide them with information on how they can encourage patrons of their churches to engage with the community to a greater extent.
The Lakeside Conference Centre was booked exclusively for the event, giving the clergy private access to all of the facilities on site, along with providing abundant parking. Furthermore, as the diocese spreads from Middlesbrough down towards Hull and all the way across York, the venue presented the perfect central location for the clergy to gather at.
The event made full use of all of the facilities including the atrium, restaurant, mezzanine and Sand Hutton Suite. The catering staff were also out in full force throughout the day, providing breakfast, coffee and lunch throughout the day for over 200 attendees. Due to the exclusive booking for the diocese, attendees were given unrestricted access to the restaurant where the clergy and parishioners enjoyed a choice of locally sourced dishes.
Speaking on the event, Liz Cashon, innovation campus manager at the Lakeside Conference Centre, said: “This was the first time we have been selected for a weekend study day for this number of people, but as we were able to provide exclusive access to our flexible facilities, the clergy could organise their day as they pleased. The success of this event is testimony to the clergy returning to the centre for not one, but two more study days. We are looking forward to welcoming them back again next year.”
Canon Derek Turnham, Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Strategy, commented: “Geographically, the Lakeside Conference Centre was easy for the clergy and parishioners from our diocese to reach and the extensive parking facilities were extremely helpful. However, it was the exclusive access to the amenities alongside the excellent service provided by the Lakeside team which lead us to booking two more events at the venue.”
