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MSCOP feedback

A mission-shaped church for older people?

Wrestling with the issues

Conference feedback form, 29^th October 2009

1. What have you gained?

• Inspiration! Meeting like-minded people who are doing the sort of things that I would like to develop.
• Encouragement that others are facing similar situations and that its being addressed.
• New ideas and encouragement for the work with/for older people.
• Some good ideas that I hope to take back. Encouragement in what I am doing.
• Good ideas from Mark Russell.
• Meeting people/networking.
• Fresh expression of the ministry to all people.
• Exciting vision, commitment from others, and encouragement in own ministry.
• A network of contacts.
• Knowledge of valuable resources.
• Better understanding of the work of Church Army/Leveson Centre.
• Encouraged to hear about types of involvement and of growing awareness of the importance of this area of work.
• Possibility of regional groups. Sharing what God is doing is not only uplifting but can be sifted as to use in own situation. Growing potential of 'fired up' 60+
• Enthusiasm, contact, ideas, resources, direction.
• Encouragement to befriend my older self! Informative way of looking at aging and the importance of older people to the whole church.
• Encouragement from the fact that so many people are caring for and interested in older people.
• Good Christian fellowship. Meeting new people.
• Hearing from speakers, hearing from participants.
• An excitement to go back and get others to think out of the box. A desire to get hold of more resources from the Sheffield Centre and the Leveson Centre.
• Encouragement for our group.
• A re-envisioning of my ministry amongst the elderly.
• Knowledge of attitudes to society and in the church as well.
• Further interest.
• Encouragement – especially by the discovery that so many believe in the value of older folk.
• Insight into my own aging. New ideas for ministry. Broader understanding of work with older people is grounded.
• A background and a theology of older people. A new contact/friend. Way into to thinking about the issues.
• Bigger picture of older people's needs.
• 2 very good input sessions, useful networking.
• Further insight into the many resources for the older person with ideas of how we may use them in our situations. Awareness of need for mission to older people & what is being done in various places at present.
• Encouragement to work further amongst older people & a challenge to extend horizons.
• Enjoyed content of keynote speakers. Sharper focus of some issues. Wealth of resource out there. Sharing experience of others involved.
• Masses! Ideas about how people "age" – how older people feel! How they can contribute. That others have the same 'problems' as we do in our church.
• A deeper understanding of older people's work.
• Encouragement & inspiration from meeting others with a heart for ministry with, and of, older people.
• Good to spend time with like-minded people with a heart for older people.
• An understanding of older people and the call of them and to them to be missional.
• Challenge about the task at hand. The 4 groups of older people. Trying to see God as to where exactly I fit?!
• Challenge. More understanding of aging & cultural pressures etc. Encouragement – that things are moving. God has resourced the church for this time of opportunity.
• Value of meeting other people, speakers & focus on older people.
• Greater understanding of the challenges.

 

2. What has been helpful?

• The above, the stalls, the speakers.
• The talks, group work, networking and fellowship.
• Talks good. Discussion interesting.
• Talking to others, doing these works.
• Chatting with other delegates.
• All of it, particularly discussion groups.
• The group impact – the keynote speaker and the Bishop's excellent summing up.
• Network and vision of mission to 'older people', sharing of experiences.
• All of it. Meeting like minded people.
• That we all face similar problems. More of Mark Russell to fire us up!
• Sharing concerns about the gospel & the elderly.
• Sharing experiences with others.
• All the speakers – as they have a voice for all ages & can encourage the value & potential of the elderly.
• It was good to hear the passion and direction of speakers. The group work was excellent – often they are hopeless and a waste of time – questions were very helpful in directing.
• Talking in small group, but 8 [people] might have been better to hear! The materials/resources made available. Reminder of the vast differences in the 55-85 age range. Who are we dealing with?
• Sharing ideas with other Christians.
• Listening and sharing in the group. The abilities and wisdom of all the speakers.
• James' theoretical insights.
• Mark Russell was absolutely inspiring – really opened our eyes to think outside the box. The discussion groups – listening to others.
• Knowing what is done/not being done.
• Listening to other people's experiences of this ministry and being challenged by them and the speakers.
• What the speakers had said.
• Mark & James talks.
• Group exchange & realising local difficulties are also general!
• Both presentations, group work, food.
• The detail and depth of talks, time to reflect/discuss.
• Mark's presentation – real encouragement to work with older people.
• 2^nd talk 'A1'
• Both the talks – inspirational, we hope to have copies.
• Possibilities & needs
• Sharing ideas/experiences with other people.
• Mark's address. Talking to other delegates. Browsing through resources at back of church. Lunch very good.
• Very.
• Time with others working with older people.
• Both the addresses and group discussion were very helpful – and Bishop Graham's concluding comments and prayer.
• Discussions, hearing other people's experiences.
• An enthusiasm for working with older people. Group work hearing what churches are doing. Info on resources available.
• Groups especially, 1^st talk inspiring.
• Sharing experiences, new thinking through group's discussion.
• Enthusiasm is go forums, encouraged by speakers.
• Networking with others, stats.

3. What would you have liked to be different?

• As ever, longer to discuss, perhaps one talk at 11:30am and then more in the afternoon.
• A talk/introduction in the morning before lunch, to kind of focus on what was happening.
• End part of James' talk looked good/interesting but not enough time. Perhaps starting ½ hour earlier? One talk before lunch.
• Nothing.
• Less time at the beginning. First talk too short, second too long.
• None.
• CEO of Church Army should have gone last to inspire on the way out before the Bishop.
• Venue nearer home would mean we could have a longer conference.
• The 1:30pm session by James Woodward too heavy going.
• Maybe an address before lunch to stimulate the occasion.
• It wasn't clear that the event didn't start until 12:45. Could have been a morning session before lunch.
• Group time before and after lunch with 2 sets of questions.
• Nothing. Length great, venue excellent. Food delicious, speakers first class. Organisation brilliant.
• Perhaps start before lunch as it seemed slightly unnecessary to arrive at 11:30am (or earlier). A little rushed in the afternoon, and a lot to take in then.
• Maybe a choice of whether to come for lunch or after. 11:15am to 12:15pm was quite a while to wait.
• I had anticipated that we (after signing in) would have lunch at once, and then the rest of the programme would proceed – I think this would be better.
• A timed program beforehand.
• Why was there no representation of other Christian ethnic groups? Eg. African, Indian, Chinese etc.
• More group time.
• Lunch in-between the 2 main sessions.
• Longer time in the small groups.
• Have one session before lunch.
• I found the 'waiting' time until the start annoying as I need not have arrived until later – and time is valuable!
• Earlier start & finish.
• 1^st session before lunch – it was a lot to take in 2 speakers at once and odd to arrive and nothing really happen for 1 ¼ hours.
• James' presentation shorter before lunch. Mark longer after lunch.
• Better to have a main session before lunch. Say, coffee at 11am, session 1 + group work 11-1pm. Lunch, then 2-4 final sessions.
• The day was excellently presented but was too short. Start after coffee and then break for lunch.
• Perhaps presentation of various examples of various different outreach --.
• Perhaps starting earlier (? 11am) with a session before lunch, as most people were 'ready to go' earlier.
• James' address to have more weight/tone to second half which in reality was bullet points which needed expanding. Some useful & practical areas were skated over.
• Start before lunch then have a break for lunch . 4 hours in one go a bit long – would have been better split.
• More time!
• Maybe another session before lunch.
• More time for sharing/group work.
• Would be good to have where/what organisation people are from on their badges.
• A morning session before lunch.
• Tea as start?

4. Any other comments

• Do it again.
• Church Army stand??
• Need follow up to this conference. An excellent day, thank you. Would like full transcript.
• Very good organisation and administration. Very well looked after by Claire & team.
• Thank you!
• An excellent and useful day.
• Very excellent organisation and lunch first good idea. Good location and facilities, but chairs needed a better cushion.
• Please do a follow up.
• Thank you for the opportunity of meeting together.
• Overall very helpful + useful. I have been encouraged a great deal about the work that is going on re the elderly. Noted that no ethnic minority representation today.
• Thanks for organising this, well done.
• Thank you for excellent food and drink – a feeling of being pampered. Great speakers + I look forward to getting details online.
• An excellent conference. Brilliant speakers. Lots of ideas and thoughts to take away and pray about.
• Great – do some more.
• A very worthwhile time.
• The suggestion of training for folk working with older groups. Lack of other ethnic groups.
• Good venue, well organised. Plenty to eat and drink physically and spiritually.
• Excellent administration and provision.
• Why no Church Army stand? Continue to explore gap year.
• Very enjoyable lunch & hospitality – thank you.
• Thank you… quality.
• Wonderful experience. Thank you. Great central venue.
• Could have let day go on after 5pm as we began later – leaving at 4 hit the busy and expensive times and trains – only just worth coming for 12-4pm.
• I hope that this will be followed up.
• A good conference. Clarified an area of potential growth with e possibility of -- for the individual and the church.
• A very enjoyable & useful day.
• My colleagues didn't receive this form! The age related group which we elected for were not differentiated. i.e. useful discussion but not focused on our options.
• More like this – more 'practical' work, more idea sharing.
• Great.
• Thank you for arranging such a good venue and lunch etc!
• Very encouraging day. Thank you.
• A useful conference. I was interested in Mark's comment about discipleship being the key for the 21^st Century. Organisations still haven't created something that is short (6 weeks) and hits the spot, whist not only covering living life as a disciple, but also answering the call to make disciples as well. What can we do about this?? We are a country of knowledge and can do a lot. Resources/these conferences are useful, but how do we mobilise the church to get on with it?? How do we get clergy to let lay people do these things and be creative?
• Good venue.
• Well done, more conferences.
• Please e-mail me the talks + powerpoints from James and Mark.

 

We would like to apologise at this point. After the event, it became clear that the publicity gave the wrong impression of the shape of the day. We were working to an "afternoon conference" schedule but the publicity stated "day conference", and with no programme going out beforehand it is no wonder so many people were early! We are so sorry for this organisational oversight and hope the afternoon was valuable despite the awkward start.

 

Feedback form, 18^th November 2008

1. What have you gained?

• Contacts
• Ideas
• Food for thought
• Realisation of so many issues
• Enthusiasm/Encouragement
• Provision of resources and information resources
• Awareness of a number of issues linked with elderly people
• Insights and encouragement for working with all categories of older people of older people. Encouragement from others with this ministry with people in this age range
• Theory
• Practical issues
• A greater awareness of the need for mission with older people
• Encouragement and a wider view of things that might be done
• It has helped me to perceive the wants and needs of older people from their point of view
• Encouraging meeting with a vast number of parishes who are all aware of a growing need of "religious input" for the elderly. Hearing their ideas and thoughts.
• It really was an up-lifting and encouraging experience
• It really was an up-lifting and encouraging experience and I look forward to hearing the evaluation feedback
• Well organised. Mark and James spoke well and I enjoyed both their talks. In our group we discussed short informal services on Sunday afternoons for Seniors; pie and pint for men.
• Networking both giving and receiving ideas
• Other people's ideas and experience

2. What has been helpful?

• All of it!
• Feedback "headlines"
• Talks plus discussion groups
• The passion of Mark's talk. The depth of content of James's talk. The sharing in groups was a valuable part of the experience. The depth of experience present was a great gift to me.
• Common experiences
• Individual experiences – stories
• Being with people in similar mission – listening to stories
• The discussion in groups brought to light all kinds of ideas and problems
• Meeting and talking to so many people. Talks were excellent. I hope that 'hand-outs' of these talks will arrive in due course.
• James Woodward's talk was particularly helpful

3. What would you have liked to be different?

• Ice breaker in introductory syndicate groups. Ours started very slowly but when warmed up, didn't want to stop.
• More tea rather than coffee in the afternoon please!
• Perhaps we could have submitted our questions, or answers for group work earlier, in order to shape the days discussion: Maybe recorded on (MP3 files) for the website of the talks.
• More time for discussion
• More time for networking
• More questions and answers on whole group level arising from the talks
• Perhaps a full day would have been helpful
• I would find it very beneficial and interesting if it were possible – to have a presentation and a hand – out from a parish (not Temple Balsall!) that had got an 'elderly scheme' in situ – the struggles and difficulties in setting it up. Would it be possible to find a parish willing to write a case history for circulation as the result of this conference? I would be willing to pay for my copy! I would have been interested to hear more – in groups if not from the audience – abut the possibility of a 'paid co-ordinator'.
• It would have been better to start a little earlier eg 11am, and have one of the talks before lunch and one after. This would give time to 'digest' the first talk and browse the bookstall.
• If we had finished a little earlier we would have avoided the rush hour and had a little daylight.

4. Any other comments

• Fantastic organisation
• "An amazing centre – what a privilege – thank you for raising the issues. I personally am dealing both for myself and in church. Something freeing about acknowledging age-related church, that are not being talked about in my church."
• Very helpful and well organised – thank you. Please keep up the good work.
• A very good, thought provoking and focussed afternoon
• I enjoyed the conference immensely and found it helpful and encouraging. Perhaps we could have more?!
• Thank you for all that you have done
• There is much work to be done in the future how might we handle the follow-up?
• I did suggest [in the context of our group] that if enough folk were interested CA might put on an information/training session at the College for running a Holiday at Home event.
• A big thank you to the Sheffield Centre our party from St Lukes in Gamston/West Bridgford found the content invaluable in guiding our work in the local community. It gave a great deal to think about in planning future activities. The admin was brilliant: even a car park attendant to guide us to a parking space.
• Superb organisation…everything ran like clockwork. I am sure like me the participants gained a lot both from the speakers and in the well organised groups. I went away feeling a job well done. I hope when Mike retires the work research and older people from the TSC will continue.
• It looks as though a massive leap was made today. I always hoped that I'd work long enough here [Sheffield] to initiate some sort of collective movement recognising how fantastic working in our field can be and to start getting that across, particularly to Anglicans (!) Congrats.
• I thought the conference went very well and well organised with very nice food and very nice touches like flower arrangements. I was astonished at how many people attended, clearly there is a hunger on behalf of local churches to 'do' something about the more mature people in our congregations and on the fringes.
• We did not know where the bookstall was at lunch time. I know we were slightly late.