Every person matters. Every person has agency and significance. If that’s something you agree with you may wish to explore the Community Development module.
As image-bearers of the divine, this is certainly something we all believe, every person matters. Through this course we seek to address what this means in practice, what it means when you’re out there in community to create a space so that people know they matter, people know they have significance.
Most people don’t know they’re made in the image of God and have significance, and this course seeks to offer a way to demonstrate that through the models of community development. There are a number of models which we get to discover through our time together.
Community development is a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems. Community wellbeing (economic, social, environmental and cultural) often evolves from a type of collective action being taken at a grassroots level. Community development ranges from small initiatives within a small group to large initiatives that involve the broader community.
We are fortunate enough to work with two outstanding practical theologians who share their practice, theory and good theological thinking about how to build good, wholesome and caring communities.
We spend three days online together exploring community, community development, human flourishing, best practices, biblical and theological foundations. This is followed by a weekend in Stoke-on-Trent where you get to meet some of the most inspiring people working in community development.
You get to experience first-hand how they gather people, provide spaces, eat together, create together and demonstrate what it means to be in the middle of community.
On the last day of online teaching you get to workshop your own practice with the tutors.
As one of our previous participants said: “It has reaffirmed my approach, what I have learnt from experience I can now name and articulate theologically and with more confidence.”
To apply, email pioneer@churchmissionsociety.org
Led by Anna Ruddick and Carmel Murphy Elliott from Urban Life (www.urbanlife.org)
Online sessions: 23 Jan, 6 Feb, 6 March, 20 March 2023
plus residential weekend 10 to 12 February 2023
Cost: £550 credit
or £470 audit