< Being Together

Inclusion and respect — small group parish resource

The ‘Being Together: An inclusion and respect dialogue resource for parishes and ministries’ has been developed by the Parishes and other Mission Agencies Commission.

This resource forms part of our response to the Anglican Church of Australia’s ‘Being Together’ statement.

Nearly 30 Australian Anglicans have contributed to this resource by sharing personal stories about exclusion and inclusion within parish communities. During his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth told stories and asked questions, so the backbone of this resource is personal stories, along with discussion questions.

The resource sessions cover the following themes:

• Introduction

• Disability, impairment and neuro-diversity

• Age and life stage

• First Nations and cultural and linguistic diversity

• Gender

• Major unexpected life events

• Sexuality

• Socio-economic situation.

This A4, 90-page resource may be used in a variety of ways. For example, while the resource is presented in eight sessions (or modules) and may be used as a course, your parish or ministry may wish to:

• change the order of the sessions

• use only a selection of the sessions

• use parts of the resource for the foundation of other group discussions or other (non-commercial) activities.

Each session follows a similar format, with an opening prayer and scripture, an activity, a choice of personal stories shared by Australian Anglicans, a discussion time and a closing prayer.

The Being Together Initiative