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Program Overview

Introduction
‘Conviviality - diaconal life in diversity’ inspires a new practice of everyday life and diakonia. It supports a new understanding of what it means to be a diaconal church and works out the implications for professional diaconal workers and their organizations. It is open to surprise and innovation. It recognizes the ambiguity and complexity in the situation and the need for creativity. The new practice of diakonia relates to situations of diversity and polarisation, of injustice and the desire for peace. Out of everyday experience, it supports efforts for empowerment in the locality and towards power holding institutions and organisations which shape life for good or ill.

Who is the programme for?
The learning program is for groups who would like to develop their understanding of being diaconal actors and being a diaconal church in the present challenging context. It is for people in local churches or in church districts, or who are involved in diaconal work. It is also for people who are studying diaconia or social and pastoral ministry. In some cases, it can be very useful for a group with leadership responsibility to build up a common vision.

What are four modules of the program?

Experiencing 
Experience and relationships are at the core of conviviality. It can be in everyday life, work life, in the local congregation or faith group and with a diverse group. This approach also can be expressed in professional work in social, youth or community work or diakonia.

Seeking Conviviality 
In this module, the focus is on conviviality, how it is understood and how it can be used to reflect on practice and reality and how it shapes what is hoped for. It includes a perspective on diakonia through this lens, in relation to everyday life and social practice of people with diverse faiths and motivation. 

Reflection on Practice 
The third module of the program builds on the work done on personal experience and practice, both the practice of everyday life and diaconal practice and the deep digging into the understanding of conviviality. The focus of this what conviviality means in practice – the practice of everyday life and ‘pastoral’ or ‘professional’ practice. It also explores how wider social, economic, and ecclesial structures can support or undermine convivial life together. 

Working for Change
The fourth module is concerned with putting ideas into practice, in everyday life, in professional work and also by changing the structures or the culture of organizations, including churches and diakonia. It opens up the practice of working for a convivial social and economic policy and take environmental sustainability into account. In this module, members of the programme group will work out their personal action for change and where appropriate the group will also develop common action for change. 

How is the learning process organised?
Each module begins with a short overview and outlines the preparatory work required by the program leader or participants for each session.
The number of sessions within each module varies, with most lasting approximately 90 minutes. However, some sessions are longer to accommodate diverse activities.
The sessions flow in a sequence, usually starting with everyday life, then focusing on church and diakonia and diaconal organizations and finally the need to analyze the situation to discover which social and economic policies and practices undermine or support convivial life together.

The structure of the sessions, which form the core of this learning guide, serves as guidance for the program leader.

Each session description follows a common format:

Goal. One sentence which highlights the aim of the session.
Objectives. The specific objectives that will be addressed.
Overview. A paragraph describes the whole session.
Process. Describes the activities of the session, step by step.

Sometimes, there is a need for reflection between the sessions and in each case, there are bridging activities which lead from one Module to the next.

What is the role of the program leader?
Each program has a leader, a pair of leaders, or be led by a small team. The leader or leaders prepare the sessions well in advance using the details in this guide, the related publications, and support materials. Planning is easier when done with another person or a small team, as different strengths complement one another. It is a good idea to go through the upcoming sessions together and share responsibilities for moderating each smaller part of the sessions.
It is also possible and, in some cases, necessary to involve members of the participant group in preparing part of an upcoming session.

Support for the leader
The leader or leaders are not alone. Our Team is committed to providing support to the program leaders, recognizing the challenges and questions that may arise in facilitating community and spiritual growth. 
You are welcome to contact us at office@interdiac.eu.

Building up the community
We would like to build up a community of people who are running the programme or implementing ideas related to ‘Seeking Conviviality’.