As the clergy person leading the congregation, the Clergy Handbook will give you all the information you need for your role in each of the events. As the primary leader in this spiritual journey you will be setting the practice of listening for God in what you offer in reflection on the scripture for each section and in your encouragement to listen for God in all things and through all things you encounter in the Open Doors New Futures process and working with your Team members to carry out each event. At the beginning of each event, you’ll be sharing prayer with your group from the depths of our tradition and in creating new prayers with your Team specific to your journey and what God is sharing.
While the Clergy Handbook is more in depth, the Introduction sections in the Handbooks for the Clergy, Team, and Congregation are very similar. It is recommended best practice that you are familiar with the other Handbooks: the event outlines and suggestions in the Team Handbook, the important reflection questions at the end of each event, and the directions for the neighborhood exploration. The actual process outline for each event is found in the Consultant’s Handbook. The preparation meetings with your Team will make sure that everything gets done.
While the entire Open Doors New Futures process is considerable work, it is split up between many different people. The joy of new insights, God’s presence, and teamwork is at the heart of the onboarding and relationship building in Open Doors New Futures. It is a good beginning and paves the way for life and call to mission together.
For more information, contact the Rev. Claire Woodley, Ministry Consultant, at cwoodley@dioceseli.org.