Eleanor McMahon, the People and Training Manager gives a broad overview of the (still newish) Church of Scotland Learning resource and invites you to engage in the growing community interaction that is now evolving.
Take four modules, add to that the architects behind them, give them a stir with a couple of facilitators, and what do you have? A lunchtime Learning Live! online event. The latest offering this June from the Church of Scotland Learning team highlighted the latest modules launched on the platform under the banner of The Church in a Changing Landscape. It brought together Darren Philips who together with Suzi Farrant created the new Being an Intergenerational Church module, along with Graham Duffin who helped shape the Navigating Your Way Through Change module, with Carolyn Merry from Place for Hope who have put their Ways of Working practice into modular form for all to consider, together with Lesley Hamilton-Messer who has helped reshape the Future Focus material to be available online.
For nearly an hour we heard from each of them about the challenges facing the Church and how we might in both using small steps, as well as shaping a larger vision for our congregations, consider how we change and adapt to the world around us that the gospel message is proclaimed and shared.
As ever, the Church of Scotland Learning team continue to reflect on feedback received as well as integrating all learning into future development, and if you were one of the 80 people who attended this event (or indeed others), then we would love to hear from you.
The Church of Scotland Learning is still less than 2 years old. It uses the Circle platform to give access to some 25 modules (and growing) that reflect and resource many topics for either individual development or groups within congregations. The content itself is clearly laid out, with facilitator notes, films (soon with subtitles) and scripts, together with sets of thinking and discussion points. Each is tailored to the Church of Scotland giving us a unique resource which will allow us to not only update some of the material that presently exists and place into an online context, but develop new areas that will supplement learning for those within a variety of ministry contexts within the Church, as well as toolkit for groups, Kirk Sessions and congregations.
The topics initially chosen for development were done in consultation with Presbyteries in 2022, and we continue to work with the various areas within the Church to develop new ones. That is why you will see a module on Ordination Vows for Elders, alongside a module on Stewardship. When we bring Unconscious Bias, essential in a world that seems to be increasingly divided, beside a module called Unpacking the Bible, with much more beside.
Our modules have been used in a variety of contexts, be it at Probationer Conferences, training for our National Assessors, Presbytery conferences as well as individuals at home. Our hope is that they will give people in congregations confidence to initiate conversations within House Groups, Bible Study groups, informal discussion groups about matters of faith and church. This is a resource to be used and adapted to the context, at times an initial starting point, to allow that journey of discovery and encounter with faith to unfold.
Yet, Church of Scotland Learning is not just about the provision of resources. More crucially, this is about a community of people who are seeking to learn from each other, which bring their own background, context and experience into the mix. Our lunchtime sessions have given us a small insight into this and we would wish to develop this further. This is not to replace the essential local communities of faith within our Church, but to bring people together to share their insights, that they might learn from being with each other and contribute to our mutual development. This is a platform that is not seeking to replicate resources that may found in other groups and organisations, but in part filling the gaps that only we can fill, but also ensure that the content is shaped by the needs of people within the Church. To this end we will be conducting informal consultations with groups identified by our Priority Areas team and the Guild – there may be others that you think it is now essential that we meet?
So if you have not yet had a look, not been on for a while, not sure what it is about? Then have a look! Our team are happy to engage with both individuals and groups to enable them to get more out the platform, and so please do not hesitate to be in touch. They are delighted to hear stories of how you are now using this, and what more we might be able to provide.
Sign up for Church of Scotland Learning here
