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List of Local Group Members and Facilitators
(30th April 2008)
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During their studies, participants are expected to be members of a Local Group which will meet regularly throughout the programme. These meetings are not occasions for formal lectures, but opportunities for fellowship and for discussing and clarifying any issues arising from studies which participants consider deserve further treatment or attention.
Local Group meetings are facilitated in most cases by a local member of the clergy and the dates and times of meetings are set by the group and the Local Group leader together.
The Local Group leader’s role is to facilitate discussion, not to act as an instructor. So rather than being expected to answer every question, the role of the leader is to help to point participants to sources and to make suggestions about where answers may be found.
Because participants are mainly studying alone at home, members of the Local Group act as a supportive environment for ongoing learning. While it will be tempting to discuss a wide variety of matters it is important that the meeting’s focus stays on the material which has been studied since the last meeting, and members need to help each other out to stay focussed. It is a requirement that participants attend Local Group meetings as these constitute part of the assessment of the programme.
Each group will of course take its own shape, but we would recommend that when there is to be group discussion, and the group is relatively large, the particpants should meet in smaller groups to facilitate the learning process. Meetings normally commence with a short time of worship and then construct an agenda of matters to be addressed. The elements a typical Local Group meeting might cover are:
Discussion facilitated by the Local Group Leader of any particular difficulties experienced with the material which has been studied since the last meeting and any issues arising from it. Participants will have been prompted to make notes in their Learning Journals of issues they want to raise;
Discussion of what has been discovered in the Situation Analysis exercises and the comparing of that information with one another;
Some practice of theological reflection. This could be theological reflection on an issue discussed in the readings, or based upon an incident that has occurred in somebody’s ministry. In this latter case, the person might present a brief case-study to which the group would react and identify theological issues and themes.