Thursday, May 23, 2013
Upgrades – resourcing ministry agents
When I was interviewed in regard to being a Principal at Uniting College, I was asked to present how I’d go about the first 3 months, the first 12 months, the first two years.
One of the ideas I suggested has just taken concrete shape.
up·grade
/ˈəpˌgrād/Verb – Raise (something) to a higher standard, in particular improve (equipment or machinery) by adding or replacing components.
Noun – An act of upgrading something.
Synonyms
verb – improve – better – ameliorate – promote
noun – ascent – rise – climb
UPGRADES (open to any and all): All of us with computers know about upgrades: the constant need to provide protection from viruses, to keep abreast of changes, to ensure integration.
The same applies in ministry. As people, as congregations in mission and in ministry, we need to upgrade, to keep reading, to refresh our resources, to be inspired by others, to modify best practice for our context.
At UPGRADES four essential areas requiring our attention as the Uniting Church in South Australia have been identified from the most recent National Church Life Survey.
For 90 minutes, lecturers from Uniting College and ministry agents from Mission Resourcing South Australia and out in the field will offer their best wisdom and practice from the last three years around new insights, books and life-giving, hands-on ideas.
TUESDAY 18th June
· UPGRADE 1 – “Worship that inspires” 4.30 – 6.00pm
· Order a meal (Pay for your own, of course!) then stay for…
· UPGRADE 2 – “Communities that welcome” 7.30-9.00pm
**Crazy Kingdom Cost: Attend one for $25. Attend both for $1!**
WEDNESDAY 19th June
· UPGRADE 3 – “Mission and Ministry that thrive” 4.30 – 6.00pm
· Order a meal (Pay for your own, of course!) then stay for …
· UPGRADE 4 – “Innovation that engages” 7.30-9.00pm
**Crazy Kingdom Cost: Attend one for $25. Attend both for $1!**
Upgrades occur upstairs in the Jervois Room at Royal Hotel, 180 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville. Register and pay online here.
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Great to see your use of technology in relation to teaching from NZ in Adelaide.. What about filming these presentations, so that they can be seen by a wider audience on line?
Comment by Duncan — May 24, 2013 @ 12:29 am
It’s a tricky one Duncan.
Students pay for input and if it’s open source, how would they feel? There’s also a certain intimacy made possible when people know exactly whom they’re speaking too cf broadcast,
steve
Comment by steve — May 25, 2013 @ 11:06 pm
Plus to film really well you need lights and its intrusive, then you have to edit…
Comment by Craig Mitchell — May 27, 2013 @ 10:01 pm
you could, perhaps arrange a different setting for the recording of upgrades, make a special keynote recording out of the setting.
re how students will feel, they’ll be paying for the face to face time, not only with speakers but also with each other and venue. the dvd keynotes could be a part of that package also.
using computers as the analogy there are always early adaptors, testers and developers, many of whom pay for early content and the ability to connect with the program. Then there are others who might get a) cheaper access to content after it’s official release and b) free access to content depending on the content’s costs.
Another example – TED works on pay per participation then free videos, it’s just the way that it shares it’s media and… it works extremely well, I’ve seen more TED talks than I have church training presentations now, and if I had the chance I’d have no issues at all with paying for access to the event.
Another… the ANIMATE course put together by Sparkhouse had the presenters develop their session and then organised a weekend for the presenters to gather and share their content, this allowed for an internal editing of content and an improved relationship between the content… the same could also be done in a way that sees the first presentations as a means to share the content and then to organise a time/weekend for the presenters to gather and present to video their updated content.
Openly having these types of upgrades offered as video could encourage others to do the same…
Comment by Darren — June 20, 2013 @ 12:44 am
Thanks Darren. These are helpful.
We did realise, as we did it, that there was a lot of energy in what was happening – and did wonder about getting our Comms team involved to try and capture it for representation wider. But the first time, we were just testing to see if there was any interest.
Which there was – good numbers at all, despite the lateness of advertising.
How much do you think a person would be willing to pay for this extra resourcing – the Upgrades as say a video – 4 by 90 minute sessions, with a written guide to allow a group to watch, pause the video and talk?
steve
Comment by steve — June 20, 2013 @ 3:05 pm
Not sure, depending on content and respect of content has to be earned, lots of dvd resources have worked due to earning their costs.
Or is there room to ask Assembly for funds to record them and make them accessible as they have for the Working Group on Worship dvds
Or perhaps a space to commission them and make available for free and see if others follow suit…
I think you’d find that presbyteries might be interested in putting in funding on behalf of congregations?
Personally, I’d probably pay up to $40 depending on content and copyright
Comment by Darren — June 21, 2013 @ 1:42 am
Need to read on computer to get full pic but what I’ve read on my small iPhone screens caught my attention!
Olive
Comment by Olive Fleming Drane — June 21, 2013 @ 11:26 pm