More than 140 people gathered in Ashford to celebrate ministry in all its forms.
- for photos from the day
Ministry teams from 23 churches across East Kent met for the Celebrating Ministry Conference at the John Wallis Academy to explore their gifts and callings in creative ways – including building their shared ministry out of LEGO®.
Organised by the Diocese of 兔子先生, the conference offered teams an opportunity to celebrate their diverse gifts for ministry and focus on developing their team dynamics.
The Rt Revd Trevor Willmott, Bishop of Dover, who hosted the event, said: “We need each other. Both the toughest and the best thing about the Church is the fact that we are called to work together. As Jesus called his first rag-tag group of disciples, so he calls each of us today to follow him and to offer our gifts to help build God’s Kingdom. Today has been a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all the joys of our shared ministry – and also to share honestly with one another the challenges we face. I hope that the teams will go away energised and inspired to serve God afresh in their communities.”
With the help of Biblical scholar Canon Dr Paula Gooder, they also grappled with New Testament metaphors for ministry and explored the implications for their own contexts, using the .
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is an experiential process designed to enhance innovation and business performance. Based on research which shows that this kind of hands-on, minds-on learning produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities, it deepens the reflection process and supports an effective dialogue – for everyone in the organisation.
“The SERIOUS PLAY® method offered us a unique opportunity to help participants to describe their gifts using three dimensional metaphors, instead of being limited by concerns of 'finding the right words,'” said Murray Wilkinson, Children and Young People’s Ministry Adviser, a trained facilitator of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology. “By tapping into their unconscious creativity they were able to share deep aspects of their ministry that will hopefully help them to continue serving together with new confidence.”
- Celebrating Ministry talks on Ministry by Paula Gooder (PowerPoint presentation)