Questions for Discussion Activities
• This section tells us that partnership is essential to engagement with communities. God also calls us to be partners with Him in mission. What does the idea of partnership mean to you? [Suggested Bible passage Jeremiah 1.6-10.]
• Has your village carried out a parish plan? If not, is there a possibility of doing one? Think together about how the church congregation could be involved, working with the Parish Council and other village organisations. If there is already a parish plan in existence, obtain a copy from the parish council and discuss its findings and what the church might be able to contribute to its implementation.
• Make a list together of all the partnership possibilities for your church from the four models of partnerships suggested. Don’t worry about practicalities at this stage, but dream some dreams. Now use the list to plan one or two partnership projects for specific purposes from the four models. Think about how these could be taken forward. What resources will you need?
• This section tells some stories of churches which have reached out to other organisations to help provide for groups in need. Using these stories, try to identify what groups of people have particular needs in your community that the church could help through partnerships with others?
• Mission link: Take a walk around the village and try to see it through the eyes of a tourist or visitor. What would a visitor need – somewhere to park, stay, somewhere to eat and drink, toilets, shops etc. What would such a visitor want to see, photograph, visit or do? How could the church be involved in responding to such needs as a form of Christian witness? If your community could benefit from locally managed tourism or wants to about Hidden Britain Centres, contact the Arthur Rank Centre on 024 7685 3060 or
arcadmin@rase.org.uk
• Worship link: Work on the model of partnership possible within services. If the minister or the same people always ‘manage’ worship, find ways to include more people outside the set roles. For example, using quiet repetitive Taizé chants while something else is going on can encourage people to sing; or giving everyone a candle as a focus for prayer time can encourage a feeling of inclusiveness.
• Community link: Ask one or two gregarious people to keep a diary recording local issues that relate to need. These issues should come from conversations and social interaction within the village. After six months or so, review the diary and see whether the church could address any of the issues in partnership with others. Or, does your village have a website? If so, how does the church appear within it? If not, could that be a partnership project?
• Celebration link: if your church supports a group or project through a partnership either locally, nationally or internationally, design a special service to celebrate that project and to show the community how much both the project and the project partners are valued. For example, if your church supports a families group, gather up photos, children’s paintings, stories or any other material and provide an occasion to give thanks and pray for the project.
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