Facilitators at General Synod
I have written the following by email to the Business Committee of the General Synod.
As ever, in the interests of transparency, I record it here.
As ever, in the interests of transparency, I record it here.
Dear Dr Philips,
I’d be very grateful if this email could be shared with the
Business Committee of the General Synod.
I’m sure that the Committee will get lots of correspondence
following the Shared Conversations at the July group of session, but would like
to add to the pile anyway.
I found the experience very helpful, and the role of the
facilitators in that was crucial. The feeling in my small group, which I
share, was that all small group work at Synod, and not just that on
controversial issues, would benefit from facilitation. I’m sure that the
facilitators used in July were a significant expense, worth every penny, but
not something that Synod can afford for every meeting.
My suggestion is that Synod develops a panel of
facilitators, comparable to the panel of chairs. I am sure that there are
many, in all three houses, who have existing skills in facilitation. They
could be used to facilitate the small groups at Synod. It would be
important that they all work in a similar fashion, and so investing in a days
training in how General Synod groups are to be facilitated would be
important. This should be enough to ensure consistency between
groups. It would be a cost, but a relatively low cost.
I hope that this is a helpful suggestion that would
contribute to the working of Synod. I would be grateful if the Committee
would consider the suggestion.
With all best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Simon Taylor
Derby 103
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