Finished, done, complete - at last the Ambassadors can take a deep breath and sigh for thier intense research project which covered the last four weeks has come to an end.
Yesterday the three groups presented thier findings to each other - focussing on The Salvation Army's ecclesiology (understanding of itself in relation to the 'Church').
Is The Salvation Army a Church or Movement - or something in between?
One group discussed this through understanding our Weslyan orgins and practises. Another group looked at our relationship with denominations. The third traced the evolution of these ideas through the General's statements. A most interesting morning.
Today brings to a close the written report section and our individual inquiry reports, including all the finicky bits such as annotated bibliographies and a whole lot of paperwork. People today tend to be in just a little bit of a happier mood and I'm sure there will be a most well deserved sleepin for many tomorrow.
Well - One down, seven more to go...
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Two weeks on...
We have almost done two half of our first module and in less than two weeks we present a 45min presentation on our findings. Each of the groups has a very different dynamic and we are all learning alot about each other, about diplomacy and patience. This will be a really interesting year!
Our mission placements were announced to us this week, surprising a few and relieving others. Instead of the traditional 3 months of outtraining, as has been done for many years, we now follow the new program of membership at assigned corps around our division. Over the course of the year we attend, share, preach and lead in this corps, getting to know the people and journeying with them. This year we are doing this in teams around the Wellington area.
However, for the second year cadets, we also have six weeks spread out throughout the year for which we spend time in various centres and specific corps activities. These field training weeks are spaced throughout the year to correlate with the module we are studying at the time... i.e. for the Mission and Community Ministry module we spend a week in a centre or other social ministry. As to the details of these, we will find out closer to the time.
So all you Ambassadors in Australia - enjoy your three months on the job training and the challenges and blessings these bring.
Our mission placements were announced to us this week, surprising a few and relieving others. Instead of the traditional 3 months of outtraining, as has been done for many years, we now follow the new program of membership at assigned corps around our division. Over the course of the year we attend, share, preach and lead in this corps, getting to know the people and journeying with them. This year we are doing this in teams around the Wellington area.
However, for the second year cadets, we also have six weeks spread out throughout the year for which we spend time in various centres and specific corps activities. These field training weeks are spaced throughout the year to correlate with the module we are studying at the time... i.e. for the Mission and Community Ministry module we spend a week in a centre or other social ministry. As to the details of these, we will find out closer to the time.
So all you Ambassadors in Australia - enjoy your three months on the job training and the challenges and blessings these bring.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Inquiry Learning - What have we got ourselves into?
The new program of training for BCM cadets consists of the second year cadets pursuing eight Salvation Army related modules of training. Each of these covers a different aspect of TSA's mission and ministry, concluding with the Officers Covenant.
This new program is acheived through what is called 'Inquiry Learning'. For this there is a set program of 'required learning' which we all must understand. But then we are left to discover and research other aspects through an Individual task and Group. For these we develop our own research area and question, as well as a similar process in a group of 5, and spend the next 3 weeks answering it. Then we present these findings and conclusions to the rest of the class.
We began this process on Monday and it have quickly learned the benefits and pitfalls of this way of learning. It is quite exciting to be able to choose your own topic to research and follow it through. But it is also quite difficult to choose from such a huge, varied and broad range of areas! And if you word your question wrongly, then it makes life incredibly difficult. Working in groups and getting a consensual answer is a social experiment in itself...
Our first module is themed around The Salvation Army's Mission and Ministry. The required learning, so far, has been of the historical foundations of our movement, but theres more to come. So far some plan to look into the historical development of women in leadership, while others went down the socialwork and mission side of things. There were questions about the songbook, traditions, sacraments, the uniform, the stance we have taken on alcohol, corporate branding and many more.
If you were in our shoes, what one thing/area would you like to know more about in the Army?
This new program is acheived through what is called 'Inquiry Learning'. For this there is a set program of 'required learning' which we all must understand. But then we are left to discover and research other aspects through an Individual task and Group. For these we develop our own research area and question, as well as a similar process in a group of 5, and spend the next 3 weeks answering it. Then we present these findings and conclusions to the rest of the class.
We began this process on Monday and it have quickly learned the benefits and pitfalls of this way of learning. It is quite exciting to be able to choose your own topic to research and follow it through. But it is also quite difficult to choose from such a huge, varied and broad range of areas! And if you word your question wrongly, then it makes life incredibly difficult. Working in groups and getting a consensual answer is a social experiment in itself...
Our first module is themed around The Salvation Army's Mission and Ministry. The required learning, so far, has been of the historical foundations of our movement, but theres more to come. So far some plan to look into the historical development of women in leadership, while others went down the socialwork and mission side of things. There were questions about the songbook, traditions, sacraments, the uniform, the stance we have taken on alcohol, corporate branding and many more.
If you were in our shoes, what one thing/area would you like to know more about in the Army?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
