forming, informing, transforming faith

Growing Disciples

Helping churches form lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ

Sacred Places, Online Spaces

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Sacred Places, Digital Spaces:
forming spiritual practices online

with Sandy Brodine and Mark Berry

Online Zoom seminar – Tuesday 20 October, 4.00-5.30pm
facebook.com/ucappep.org

Hosted by Port Phillip East Presbytery

Join us for our fourth session on blended faith formation – growing disciples both online and face-to-face.

Sandy and Mark will talk about
– why spiritual practices are important for faith formation
– what it means to develop a Christian community around spiritual practices
– how spiritual practices can be cultivated both face to face and online
– what they’ve learned about preparing and leading in online settings
– what ‘new monasticism’ can mean for the church in a digital world

Rev Sandy Brodine is the minister for Emerging Faith Communities with the Banyule Network of Uniting Churches. In the last few years Sandy has explored and developed spiritual disciplines through both digital and physical meetings, with children through to adults. A former teacher, Sandy is intentional about integrating learning with discipleship. During COVID-19 her ministry of fostering new faith communities has further developed in the digital realm.

Mark Berry has worked as a Mission Pioneer with the Church of England in the UK in the Manchester area and started the Safespace faith community in Telford. Mark is a former youth worker, a musician and writer. Mark is interested in spiritual disciplines alongside the birthing of new faith communities. He is the author of Navigatio – a pocket liturgy book on Proost. With Ian Mobsby he is the co-author of A New Monastic Handbook: From Vision to Practice. Mark conducted workshops in Australia in 2015.

Project Zero’s “Thinking Routines”

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This is a project of Harvard University offering educators tools to help people learn to think and learn by thinking:

This toolbox highlights Thinking Routines developed across a number of research projects at PZ. A vast array of PZ’s work has explored the development of thinking, the concept of thinking dispositions, and the many ways routines can be used to support student learning and thinking across age groups, disciplines, ideals, competencies, and populations. Thinking Routines originated in PZ’s Visible Thinking research initiative. Over the years, researchers enhanced and expanded upon the original routines, and new projects developed new routines. Some of the larger PZ research projects focused on enhancing thinking include Artful Thinking, Cultures of Thinking, Agency by Design, PZ Connect, and Interdisciplinary & Global Studies.

PZ Thinking Routines from Sue Borchardt on Vimeo.

There are so many applications here for Christian education, and it goes far beyond just thinking about Bloom’s taxonomy of questions, in particular the idea of finding a useful and suitable “habit” for a group and repeating it to help form ways of thinking and working together as a group.

The Thinking Routines website is here.

Childrens Books read Online

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Maginarium Press is the childrens’ publishing imprint of the The American Psychological Association. Here on Youtube you’ll find videos of their authors reading their books online. They mainly address issues related feelings, self and relationships.

Here’s a sample:

Standing Stones

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A friend from Adelaide who is a retired minister does wonderful wood-turning. He decided to make the off-cuts into small, irregular pieces – sets of 6 standing stones that could be stacked in multiple ways. After I saw a picture, I wanted some to use in retreat spaces, so I ordered 5 sets.

I like offering non-verbal, contemplative activities. I can imagine using these with individuals or groups as a quiet activity.

Making a stack requires concentration – it’s not easy! It requires attention to balance. I experienced frustration, and needed to slow down and lose myself in the task.

I’m really looking forward to using them myself and on retreats.

“Our Faith” Video Series

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This week the Uniting Church’s Assembly has published the video series that I produced for them about Christian beliefs from a UC perspective. The series is here. The videos are designed for use with newcomers to the Uniting Church, people preparing for baptism and confirmation, a ‘basics’ series about Christian faith, for high school religious education, etc.

Each video goes for 7-8 minutes and they feature a range of leaders from across the Uniting Church – congregational ministers, university chaplains, college lecturers, and lay members.

1. Believing in God – Rev Dave Williamson, Rev Eseta Waqabaca-Meneilly, Dr Deidre Palmer
2. Believing in Jesus Christ – Rev Dr Geoff Thompson
3. Believing in the Holy Spirit – Rev Dr Paul Dongwon Goh, Rev Steph Tai, Rev Dr Tim Hein
4. Receiving the Scriptures – Rev Dr Monica Melanchthon, Rev Stuart Cameron
5. Living as God’s Church – Rhanee Tsetsakos, Rev Dr Andrew Dutney, Rev Charissa Suli, Rev Alistair Macrae, Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler
6. Serving God’s Mission – Rev Alistair Macrae, Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler

What a fine group of people, wise and expressive. Some of the interviews went for an hour.

The videos are designed to open up discussion and be a resource for learning – they’re not statements of dogma, even through they’re full of doctrine. There’s a discussion guide currently being completed. It will be available sometime in August. There are also transcripts which will be available.Continue Reading