Delegate Training

Preparing for the 2006 Synod

Welcome to

Schedule

  .9:00 AM -Check-in .
9:30AM-Welcome
.9:45 AM -Worship
.10:05 AM -Break   
 .10:15AM-Explanation
.10:30 AM -Small Groups
.11:15 AM -Break 
.11 :30 AM -Small Groups
 .12:15 PM -Closure

Our Main Goal:

.To be a community of God...
.A body of delegates. ..            
    .A community discerning the voice  of God together..

Delegate vs. Representative

.A representative is elected to express the opinion of the electing body the Synod.

.A delegate is elected to discern and respond to the actions of Synod from his/her own sense of conviction.

.A representative may or may not connect with other representatives to form a community as decision makers

.It is critical for a delegate to see himself or herself as part of delegate body, which is seeking to discern the will of God for the church. This body, which is formed by the delegates, Is Synod.

.Synod is the primary decision making body of the province with the exception of matters of doctrine (which are reserved by the Unity Synod.

.The work of the congregations, the clergy, the provincial agencies and boards, including the Provincial Elders' Conference, are an extension of Synod.

Small Group Process:

.Gather in groups of 7 -8

.Gather with folks who are delegates from different congregation or agency than your

own

Listening to One Another:
3 PRINCIPLES

 1. Leadership is shared: each voice in the group matters; each person helps the group function by assuming small increments of leadership.

2. Sharing responsibility: each person pays attention to what needs doing or saying next and does his/her share.

3. Relying of the Spirit: each person places ultimate reliance in the Spirit of God and takes his/her place as one among many brothers and sisters in Christ.

3 Practices: Listen with attention:

Focus clearly on what someone is saying.

Listen attentively (without competing, interrupting).

Receptive listening.

1 Allowing brief, reflective silence between speakers honors those who speak and allows time to absorb what was said

2 Responding to the speaker not with commentary but with honest, open questions that have no other intent than to help the speaker hear more whatever he/she is saying

3 Honor whatever truth-telling has been done by speaking one's own truth openly with no Intent on affirming or negating other speakers

3 Practices: Speak with intention

-Contribute what has relevance, heart, and meaning to the topic of the moment.

-When we speak instrumentally we speak to influence others to a particular view.

3 Practices: Contribute to the well being of the group

-Consider the impact of words and actions before, during, and after we interact.

-Stay aware of your impact on the group and notice this impact while you contribute to the dynamics of the group.

-Remember. What is the intent of the group at the moment; Is what I am saying or doing contributing; Am I seeking to guide or am I inserting my own ego or personal needs for attention?

4 Agreements:

1. Respecting personal integrity:

 -Creates an atmosphere that allows people to speak knowing they will not be gossiped about...

-Allows people to take risks, to share ideas, to keep developing their understanding as their understanding grows...

4 Agreements:

2. Practice discernment, not judgment:

-Discernment is the ability to listen, sort and speak without having to be "right" or in total agreement before other people's opinions and views can matter.

-Someone else's view doesn't have to be right or wrong; it may simply be different.

4 Agreements:

3. We ask each other for what we need and offer what we can:

-Asking for what you need next allows you to avoid power struggles and personal drama.

-There are times when your request may not be responded to in a manner you expected; this is learning. not failure.

-If a request does not fit the task or orientation of the group there may be a lack of interest.

-Group members will learn to negotiate what they can and cannot do. and hold intention for the direction of group energy.

4 Agreements:

4. Pauses are important:

-Pause allow the group to re-gather thoughts and focus.

-Anyone in the group may call for silence, time-out, or a moment to recollect where the group is.

-This is time to be aware of the way you are functioning in the group:

'Have I said anything I don't really believe? Why?'

'I believe what I said but I am not sure what it means:

'What I said Is true for me, but I have not understood how it Is true for me until just now:

'As I look at what I have said, I suddenly see Implications for my life I have never seen before:

A Footnote on Truth

These principles, practices and agreements attempt to find a way to hold different conceptions of truth, while minding the difference.

It is a path between the arrogance of absolutism and the mindlessness of relativism.

Whether you know it or not, like it or not, acknowledge it or not, our lives are interconnected in a complex web of causation.

My understanding of truth impinges on your life, and yours impinges on mine, so the difference between us matter to both of us.

A community of trust honors both our differences and our connections.

Small Group Task #1

.Take a few minutes to get to know each other.
 .Appoint a facilitator (not a clergy person).
.Review the survey summary together.
 .What surprises you?
.What were expected outcomes for you?
.How does the summary compare to your own responses?
.Think of yourself as a delegate vs. a representative of a congregation or agency: what appears different to you from the perspective of a delegate?

Small Group Task #2

Appoint a recorder to make note of the groups response to the following:

1. What does your group agree about the information?

2. Is there something missing?

3. What is God calling your group to see?

4. What are we not wise enough to ask that needs to be voiced or heard?

5. Be prepared to report back with a statement of no more than 30 seconds. The written report will go to the Synod Planning Committee.

Closure

.Synod is... you the delegates.

.It is not held to fulfill any expectation or mandate but what it discerns from God on its own.