Seminar provides a forum where learning is shared

A report on the Regional Coordination and Area Teaching Committee Seminar, 18–19 February 2023

Last month, regional coordinators and Area Teaching Committees from both the North and South Islands gathered in Auckland to develop capacities for coordination, accompaniment, and the dissemination of learning. Held the weekend after the cyclone, there was some uncertainty about whether to go ahead, but after lengthy and loving consultation, the organising institutions decided to proceed as planned.

“I’ve never seen such a clear vision of the concepts children are exposed to through the Programme for the Spiritual Education of Children before. I’m going to share it with the families of the children in our children’s classes,” was a comment from one participant.

These seminars are held twice a year, where what has been learned at the grassroots over the previous six months is collated and analysed, and there is an open forum for participants to share their experiences directly with those serving in a similar capacity in the region. All participants are then encouraged to take the learning and insights back to their home clusters to share.

A feature of the first day’s programme was that all 55 participants came together to hear an update on the status of and learning from each educational imperative, as well as an overview of the accumulated experience in the region from the Area Teaching Committees, helping everyone gain a more expansive view of the training institute as we all labour to progress building our communities and releasing the society-building powers of the Faith.

Field visits in the afternoon, arranged by the Auckland Teaching Committee, were a wonderful opportunity to practise in-depth conversations with families and study together how the strategy of working in groups of families can be extended and implemented.

The second day was dedicated to study and to advance our capacities in separate streams, according to where participants serve—the programme for the spiritual education of children, the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme, the main sequence of courses, and Area Teaching Committees.

This seminar was particularly special, because we were joined by ten friends from the South Island region, which enriched our learning through their sharing of local experience and growth. While the spirit of the gathering was joyous and uplifting, our thoughts were with those communities hit hard by cyclones and floods and the friends who could not participate in the seminar. All are looking forward to the next seminar in August.