THIS COURSE emphasises that the call of God is to everyone, and each of us has the privilege as well as the duty to listen out for God’s call and to see how we might respond to it. It is for all who want to explore what it might mean for them to hear and respond to God’s call wherever they might be or wherever that might lead them.

MOST OF THE WORK is undertaken in groups, sharing your experiences, your understanding, your gifts. You will be encouraged to reflect on what you have experienced in each session and to take time during the week to reflect further. You will also find it helpful to read through the material for the coming session as a way of preparation. To help you focus this, you are encouraged to keep a journal of your thoughts and experiences, your hopes and struggles, points of particular significance and comments that have touched your heart.
It will be your journal, a private record that you will not be required to share with anyone else if you do not wish to.

AT THE END of the course you will have the opportunity to reflect together with others on what you have learnt, what you have become, how you have experienced God’s call and where it might now be leading you.

To hear God’s call we need to be awake, have open hearts as well as open minds and ears. It sounds serious, and of course it is not a frivolous matter. But nor should it be solemn. There could be fun - certainly enjoyment in learning together and learning of God.

Session One: Called to be Human
We begin from where we are – our common humanity and our particular identity. God’s primary call to us is in creating us. What we are called, our names, have a particular significance, and naming is a creative act. As well as our given names, we may have nick -names and the names associated with our rôles. Who we are is in part shaped by our experiences and the culture around us.

Session Two: The God Who Calls
Who is this God who calls to us?
The names given to God indicate some -thing of how people have experienced Him. This can be traced through the pages of Scripture. Knowing God to be Trinity is a mystery but through it we learn of a God within whom there is the movement of love, always moving outward. This is the divine mission which He calls us to share.

Session Three: The Call of the Kingdom
The Kingdom (the ‘rule’) of God was the focus of Jesus’ preaching. It is an aspiration and a hope for the future as well as being near at hand. Its values shape the mission we are called to and the way we carry out that mission.

Session Four: The Kingdom's Arena: The Community
We are called to work for the Kingdom in those places, communities
and networks where we find ourselves. It is in these in all their
ordinariness and particularity that we are called to work for the extension of God’s Kingdom.

Session Five: An Agent of the Kingdon - The Church
Through Baptism we are called into that community of faith which is the church, the Body of Christ. It is one of God’s agents for mission as it seeks to fulfil its Priestly, Pastoral and Prophetic task, following the example of her Lord.

Session Six: All Are Called
Christ calls us all to be his disciples
– to follow him. And there is a ‘discipline’ about being a disciple. It is expressed in all we are and do, not just in what we are and do in the life of the church. We do have choices about what we do and we reflect on what motivates those choices.

Session Seven: Transforming Call
To be called by God and to respond to that call is to experience change and transformation. In the Scriptures there are examples of how this was reflected in a change of name. All this is part of a continuing journey in the company of God. Different people experience his call in different ways and in reflection with one another the nature of that call can be explored and tested. The journey continues and does not end as the course concludes.