What Are the Village Groups?

One of the most important parts of an LWF Assembly occurs when the participants share their challenges and joys, fears, visions and hope with each other in small groups called “Village Groups.”

The Eleventh Assembly Planning Committee and the LWF Council have identified a long list of contemporary challenges, which have been commended for special consideration at the July 2010 meeting in Stuttgart, Germany.

Accordingly, 30 sets of short discussion-starters with background information and relevant questions have been prepared for the Village Groups. The outcome of discussions at the assembly will be shared with the church at large and will serve as directives for the LWF’s future work.

Participants will gather in five Village Groups, each with a particular focus:

Village Group 1 | Good soil – Clean water

This group is asked to deal with questions related to the basic requirements of farming. Discussion-starter pages for use by this group have been prepared on the following subjects:

the gift of clean water
climate change
energy
care of creation and economic development
just distribution: “who among us hungers?”
life in abundance: proclamation

Village Group 2 | Sowing

This group is requested to focus on matters related to sowing, or laying the groundwork for a given enterprise. The starter pages for this Village Group comprise the following:

the gift of good seed
advocacy
living with HIV and AIDS
genetically modified seed
human trafficking
education and empowerment

Village Group 3 | Growth – Harvest

Group three has been assigned topics related to producing, harvesting and obtaining adequate returns for these efforts. The following discussion-starter pages have been prepared for this purpose:

the gift of harvest
fair trade
agribusiness
the rights of the child
diakonia as a reaction to exclusion
living by grace

Village Group 4 | Processing what is harvested

The discussion-starter pages prepared for this group include:

the gift of preparation
agricultural practices
decent work
consumerism
food and culture
migration

Village Group 5 | Breaking the bread – Sharing solidarity

The following discussion-starter pages have been prepared for this group:

breaking and sharing
justice in gender relationships
divided church in a divided world
ecumenical relations
communication
your kingdom come: eucharistic hospitality

Village Group sessions are open to delegates and most categories of participants.

What Are the Village Groups?

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