Sheffield Methodist District Faith at Work Programme

Some suggestion for making faith at work an integral part of the life
of the local church

[Note - In all these suggestions `work' refers to both paid employment and
voluntary work.]

Getting to know in what forms of work people are involved

1. Put together a `map' of the work undertaken by church members - this could be an `occupational' map (people grouped by occupations or voluntary work interests), or a geographical map (showing where people work in the area). Produce a `directory' of church members' names and occupations as a key to the map (or to be used separately as a means of mutual awareness, support and prayer).

2. Set up a visual display (for a week or two) of what people are involved in at work (paid and voluntary). Such a display might be a collage made up of people's work logos, business cards, letter headings, photos of work, T-shirt logos, etc. Include young people through their school badges and mottos. The display might be linked to a faith at work service.

3. Provide a regular `slot' in the church newsletter for people to write about their work. If people do not have the time or inclination to write in this way they can be interviewed and the interview written up for publication.

4. Invite people to offer short job profiles of their work in the church newsletter (or to be put on a notice board) and to suggest for what they would appreciate prayers.

5. Presbyters and deacons to visit church members at their places of work - shadow for a day/half day or meet them over coffee/lunch. Then to share in church meetings/worship their reflections on these experiences.

Worship

6. Celebrate people's gifts and skills in worship in various ways. On occasion use the service as a means of commissioning people to fulfil their calling as the people of God in the world.

7. Ask people in worship to speak about what work they do and what faith means to them in this context. This is often best done by someone interviewing those concerned (a lay person may be very good at this). However, it is important to meet those involved (if possible as a group) beforehand to prepare them for the questions.

8. In intercessions ask a number of people to bring forward some object representing their work, speak for a moment about what the object represents, place it on the communion table (or get the worship leader to do this) and then pray for a work concern.

9. Hold services on work-related themes and contexts - schools/colleges, hospitals, retail shops, business, transport, local government, etc.

10. Use worship regularly (as well as on designated Sundays) to acknowledge, affirm and pray for people's contributions to the world of work.

11. Focus in worship (and sometimes bring people together) on different occupational groupings - education, health, finance, farming, business (related to those within and beyond the church). Pray for their particular concerns. Focus on what faith at work in the home and family involves.

12. Hold a service where people are encouraged to talk about what it means to be unemployed, what it feels like to be working very long hours for whatever reasons or what it means to be `retired'.

13. Use people's work experience to enrich themes in the church year (e.g. a midwife to talk about preparing for a birth - Advent).

14. Encourage worship leaders to draw more on and preach about their work experience, and how faith informs their lives at work. Explore this as a focal concern in a local preachers' meeting.

15. Hold a `Harvest Festival of Work' service with accompanying display of the work concerned.

Reflection and learning

16. Set up a support group for those who want to meet informally to explore their experiences (encouraging or difficult) of being Christians at work (perhaps through sharing related stories). Discuss how to communicate the Christian faith in a work context.

17. Set up study courses for church members to explore a Christian understanding of work and/or how Christian ethics relate to issues faced in their working lives.

18. Plan for class meetings to discuss issues of faith at work and pray for members in their working lives.

19. Encourage Lent groups to discuss challenging issues facing members in their working lives.

20. Set up a `breakfast/lunch club' (on or off church premises) for church members to exchange and explore ideas about faith at work.

21. Offer young people linked to the church the opportunity to think about how they view their work at school or college as young Christians and what it means to be a Christian in those situations. The issue of Christian vocation may come to

the fore here.

22. For a church away day, practice the art of communal living Benedictine style - work (indoors or outdoors), eat, study the scriptures and pray together.

Beyond the local church

23. Encourage Christians who share similar occupations or professions to meet to share/pray together (in our outside the workplace as appropriate) about how they can better express their faith through their work..

24. Set up a support service for those under stress at work. Engage in training (by the church or other agencies) so that the church can better support people facing crises at work - stress, redundancy, bullying, etc.

25. Provide a lunchtime venue for people (linked to the church or not) to share work concerns together - possibly a `lead' speaker to set the scene.

26. Involve local shops and businesses in offering gifts for a neighbourhood celebration of work service of worship.

27. Invite local organizations/agencies/shops to display their `services' or 'products' in the church (foyer?) - perhaps with their comments as to how they feel what they do contributes to the well being of the community - body, mind and spirit.

28. Have a notice board in church on which people can put cuttings (from the press or magazines) that represent what concerns them in the working world - perhaps as a spur to prayer. This would need to be monitored and out of date cutting removed.

April 2007