Departments

Diversity Ministries

Creating a sense of belonging!

"The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding and valuing each individual as unique, made in His Image and recognizing our individual differences. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual."

 

Our Purpose - Why the Diversity ministry?

The SDA church in the SEC has a mission. Our mission compels the church to create a place where all feel connected and have a sense of belonging to be able to be connected to others who need to hear about the plan of Salvation.

Belongingness is the human emotional need to be an accepted member of a group. Whether it is family, friends, co-workers, a religion, or something else, people tend to have an 'inherent' desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves.

This implies a relationship that is greater than simple acquaintance or familiarity.

The need to belong is the need to give, and receive attention to, and from, others. Belonging is a strong and inevitable feeling that exists in human nature.

Without belonging, one cannot identify themselves as clearly, thus having difficulties communicating with and relating to their surroundings.
 

What will the ministry do? 

The SEC Diversity Ministry aims to facilitate the environment where the membership of the church in the SEC have an opportunity to investigate the experiences of its membership and community and how their experiences impact the mission of the church.
 

How will we do this?

The department has developed training seminars, workshops and resources. The resources enable communities to identify good practice and challenges that affect the belonging of its membership. The aim of the resources and seminars / workshops is to facilitate an atmosphere of connectivity within the church membership enabling better connections with the local community.
 

Aims

  1. Provide a place for open and honest discussion and reflection
  2. Provide training towards understanding the diverse nature of the church and community
  3. Provide training towards creating a place where all can have a sense of belonging
  4. Provide training towards celebrating the diverse membership of the body of Christ
  5. Provide resources to support the diversity Ministry 
     

We will host

  1. Annual Training and Celebration Weekends
  2. Quarterly regional and local training - seminars, workshops, Q & A
  3. Development of resources guides and quick tip leaflet

LINKS & RESOURCES

RECENT EVENTS

Max McKenzie-Cook

Max McKenzie-Cook

Diversity Coordinator