How to use St Francis College Short Courses

Welcome! 

It's great that you made it to our SFC Short Course pages!  

These Short Courses were created with you in mind. They are designed to introduce relevant and thought-provoking conversations about a range of topics related to faith and faithfulness. 

You may have a particular question that brought you here, or maybe you’re looking around for some thoughtful content to explore. You might have great experience in asking questions like these, or maybe you’re a beginner! We hope that you’ll find ideas here to keep you asking questions and encourage you to have conversations with others about these matters of faith.  

YOU’LL FIND CONVERSATION HERE 

We love the way our experts approached these topics! Their task was to share a story or two, an inspiring idea, or something to spark conversation. You can hear several angles on each question, but no one claimed to present a definitive answer - there is more to say on each of these complex human issues. That’s where you or your small group come in! Conversations about these themes are age-old; we’ve captured part of our generation’s contribution to these conversations. You are invited to contribute too!    

WHAT IS A SHORT COURSE? 

Each SFC Short Course has 5 or 6 episodes tackling one broad theme related to the topic. Each theme is broken into shorter videos dealing with individual questions. There are discussion/reflection questions for each Question video, complete with transcripts of the video. Great for revisiting the main ideas! 

These Short Courses are designed to suit personal reflection and/or small group use. See below for some ideas about using the videos to suit your particular time frame and needs. 

So, the first thing to do is choose which SFC Short Course you’ll dive into first! Is it to be Exploring the Bible, Faith Asking Questions, or perhaps What Matters About Jesus, or Being Anglican? 

Once you know which broad topic you’ll tackle, consider how you want to proceed. 

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE? 

A REGULAR GATHERING? 

Consider how much time you have for your viewing/thinking! Each SFC Short Course consists of several episodes. Each episode contains A LOT of information and will suit an individual or group who has a couple of hours to view, pause, chat and repeat. This approach is perfect if you meet regularly online or face to face, and have the potential to pick up where you left off, or if you and your group can finish the video in their own time between meetings. 

IS TIME SHORT? 

If time is short, or you prefer to tackle one idea at a time, then check out the individual questions in each episode. The videos stand alone, and each video has its own set of discussion questions. So, it is possible to work with one video at a time – you might think of the question list as a menu! Take a look through the menu and decide which items you’ll chew over today!  

Save the question menu to your browser ‘favourites/bookmarks’ and every time you have a spare 10 minutes, choose one video to watch. This way you could get through a question while waiting for soccer practice to finish, if you wake up early, or when everyone else goes to bed early!  

If you’re working through these on your own, you could record your thoughts in a journal, or by making notes as you go. 

ARE YOU PART OF A GROUP? 

Try a “flipped classroom” approach.  Ask everyone to watch the video in their own time at home. Then come together just for discussion. This is a great way to proceed if you’re practicing physical distancing, or just need to fit the most into your day! People can watch, think, read the transcript and mull over the content, then ‘Zoom’ into a conversation all ready to share ideas.  

Remember that each video comes with a transcript. Use the transcripts to focus attention. For instance, while watching the video, people can use the transcript handout to… 

  • Highlight new ideas  

  • Circle “aha” moments  

  • Underline ideas you’ve heard before  

  • * Put an asterisk next to ideas that puzzle you.  

This allows you to meet at a venue that does not require a screen! Consider meeting at the pub, in a coffee shop or simply streamline your time by getting straight into the questions.   

 

IDEAS FOR CLERGY AND LEADERS OF DISCUSSION GROUPS 

Curate your own discussion series. By choosing appropriate questions for particular situations you could encourage conversation with new community members, or for preparing for special events.  

Or you could encourage your group to vote on the top 5 questions they’d like to discuss. That guarantees ownership and participation in your course! 

For example: A family preparing for Baptism could look at the list/menu and choose a few questions they've wondered about in the past, or that relate to raising their child in an Anglican Christian community. Or you might select a few for the parents to consider in their own time before they meet with you. For instance, using videos from SFC Short Course: Faith Asking Questions: 

1.5 What’s appealing to you about the Christian story?  

2.3 What does it mean to be created in the image of God?  

3.1 Is there a reason for me? What is the purpose of my life?  

4.1 Is evil real?  

5.1 What is grace in terms of the Christian story?  

6.6 What hope does the Christian faith offer about what comes next?  

  A Lenten study could use one video and the accompanying discussion questions per week. Again, taking questions from SFC Short Course: Faith Asking Questions… 

It might look like:  

Week One – 1.1 Why is religion a thing?  

Week Two - 1.5 What’s appealing to you about the Christian story?  

Week Three - 6.3 Why do people have to die?  

Week Four - 4.1 Is evil real?  

Week Five - 5.1 What is grace in terms of the Christian story?  

Week Six - 6.6 What hope does the Christian faith offer about what comes next?  

Or Confirmation preparation  

1.1 Why is religion a thing?  

2.3 What does it mean to be created in the image of God?  

3.3 How do I decide what to do with my life? 

At the start of a new Bible study of Galatians, you may watch and discuss the following: 

Use videos from SFC Short Course: Exploring the Bible, e.g. 

1a / 2a / 4a What is your favourite Bible story? 

2d How should we read the Bible? 

2e How important is genre in the Bible? 

4d What is the big picture message of the New Testament? 

4g Why are Paul and his letters a big deal? 


Having peaceful discussions about faith things 

We are so fortunate that the Anglican Communion has space for a range of interpretations on some theological issues. Many Anglican Christians understand that we can each apply reason to interpret Scripture and tradition. In this way, our thoughts combine to make the rich tapestry of understanding that is Anglicanism. With a prayerful approach, and willingness to listen and be open to the experience of others, it's possible to take part in the great Anglican idea that we can express unity in diversity.  

HERE ARE SOME HINTS ABOUT HOW TO DISCUSS ISSUES OF FAITH WITH RESPECT AND OPENNESS…

Click here for a transcript of this talk. That might help you have the space to think about it more…


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