New discussion guide for 'Our Faith' video series
May 16, 2022
'Our Faith' is a video series produced for the Uniting Church Assembly exploring some basic Christian beliefs from a Uniting Church perspective. While the videos were released in 2019, there is now a small group discussion guide to accompany them.
The video series and discussion guide have both been produced for the Assembly by Dr Craig Mitchell, former Assembly National Director - Formation, Education and Discipleship, and are free to download.
"This combination of short video and group learning is an excellent way to open up issues," said Craig. "The videos aren’t for solo viewing, nor are they designed for evangelism. In a sense they are a resource for people who have started on the way."
As an accessible and home-grown way to open questions about faith and belief, the resources feature Australian voices putting faith in plain language. The Creeds, the Basis of Union and the Scriptures provide the grounding for exploring who God is, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, how we approach the Bible, what it means to be the church, and how we share in God’s mission.
The six videos go for about 8 minutes each and are closed captioned. They feature a range of clear presentations by UCA leaders with a diversity of ages, cultures and gender. Speakers include Dr Deidre Palmer, Rev Alistair MacRae, Rhanee Tsetsakos, Rev Dr Tim Hein, Rev Dr Monica Melanchthon, Rev Dr Andrew Dutney and Rev Charissa Suli.
The discussion booklet is based around the videos, and invites people to explore their own questions within a community of disciples.
- people who are new to the Uniting Church
- people preparing for baptism and confirmation
- those wanting a refresher on the basics
- a group of older teenagers in a discipleship group or religious education class in school
Each session contains interactive activities and handouts, and last for 75 to 90 minutes.
“We wanted a resource that addressed our core confessions. After all, baptism is not a denominational act! At the same time, people expressed the need to say something about who we are as a Uniting Church. The session touches base with some key parts of the Basis of Union, and provides an invitation for people to explore further.”
“We recognise that ministers and elders will bring their own learning and wisdom to facilitating a conversation. There isn’t a fixed script for explaining belief - the context is conversational. We want to invite people into a lifelong journey of faith.”
Dr Mitchell is currently the Presbytery Minister - Church Development in the Presbytery of Port Phillip East, Victoria.