As you may be aware the Presbytery is currently going through a period of review. A small working group has been established to look at the structure of Presbytery, the remits of committees, the pattern of meetings and the how well NENI is fulfilling its purpose. One of the reports being taken into consideration is that of the Connections and Nominations Committee from our September meeting. You can find a copy here: Report on Connections and Nominations Survey and Conference Session
Within the report, there is a section on Presbytery meetings which unpacks some of the challenges around how we meet and how we handle the business that needs to be done whilst creating opportunities to reflect on important topics.
The report notes: "There is a clear desire for more opportunities for sharing of struggles and of inspirational stories; of having the space to listen to one another’s experiences and to wrestle with the challenges of church life: be that going through readjustment; bringing the good news of Jesus to our communities and neighbours; dealing with the administrative necessities; sustaining congregational life; or the myriad of other opportunities and challenges that face us all."
The desire to connect with others, learning from each other's experiences and feeling less isolated comes across in many of the encounters that I have through my role as the Clerk. Kirk Sessions and those in ministry want to know that they are not alone in what they are grappling with and sharing our own experiences can be energising.
The questions that potentially arise are:
- How do we increase that sense of connection?
- How can we reduce the isolation felt by those participating online?
- How can we improve the overall experience of presbyters at our meetings?
A group of Presbyters from Moray choose to meet together for Presbytery meetings when we are online. We often see them on screen as one or other of them addresses Presbytery and I think it is a great way of overcoming some of the challenges raised in the report. How would Presbytery meetings change if we had more groups like that?
Our next meeting is in just under two weeks. (The papers were circulated yesterday). If there are particular things that you think would help you with being online at the meeting, please let us know. And perhaps for the first meeting of next year, you can think about whether meeting up with others might be helpful. Perhaps you could even offer to host a gathering in your church.
Don't forget to register for the December meeting and we look forward to being together for our last business meeting of the year.
Rev Stella
