Agenda Volume 3 - Methodist Conference

57. The Fruitful Field Project
timeline, directing the Ministries
Committee to have oversight of the
project and to bring a report to the
2012 Conference.
Preliminary work after the 2011
Conference
31 Working within the mandate given to
it by the Conference, the Committee
undertook its own assessment of the
Church’s connexional commitments,
activities and resources in the fields
of formation, learning, training,
theological education, scholarship,
research and development. This
assessment was informed by the
research, informal consultations
and analysis undertaken since the
2010 Conference. The outcome
of the Committee’s assessment
was a vision for the future of the
Conference’s commitments, activities
and resources in this area. The
Committee was grateful for the
opportunity to discuss its analysis
and vision at a residential meeting
of the Connexional Leaders’ Forum
held in late September 2011, to
which members of the Strategy
and Resources Committee and the
Ministries Committee itself were also
invited.
The formal consultation
32 Working to the timeline and
processes approved by the 2011
Conference, the Committee then
moved to prepare and publish
a consultation document, which
outlined much of the background
and analysis which had informed the
Committee’s deliberations, as well as
the Committee’s vision for the future.
The vision which was shared in the
consultation document is outlined in
section F of this report.
33 Reflections on all aspects of the
consultation document were invited
from “the Methodist people and
all of our partners, colleagues and
friends” from 17 October 2011 until
2 December 2011. Hard copies
of the consultation document
were sent to all those institutions
and postholders whose work was
discussed in the document. Hard
copies were also sent to all District
Chairs, Superintendent ministers,
Synod secretaries and members of
the Methodist Council. Several other
office-holders and representatives
received emails directing them to
the consultation’s website. Hard
copies were also sent to church
leaders and officers within partner
denominations and within Methodistrelated
organisations. Hard copies
of the document could be ordered
free of charge from the Connexional
Team, and an electronic copy could be
downloaded from the website. Over
1,900 hard copies of the consultation
document were dispatched during
the consultation period. The
consultation’s web page was viewed
5,001 times, and the electronic
version of the consultation document
was downloaded 1,661 times.
34 During the consultation period,
members of the Committee,
Conference Agenda 2012 655