The Dondi Project DVD Study Guide

DVD Study Guide

Voices in the Ruins: The Dondi School Project

This guide also accompanies the YouTube clip “The Dondi Project, Angola” (5 min.; March 31, 2010

147 views The Men's Ministries Network of the United Church is raising funds to help rebuild the Lutamo school in Dondi, Angola with the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola. To learn more and become involved: http://dondiproject.com/

Please contact The Rev. Lloyd Paul for the full-length DVD (21 min).

CONTEXT

The Dondi Project is a response to a call for support from our partner the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA). IECA is working to rebuild a desperately-needed school in Angola. The Men’s Ministries Network of The United Church of Canada is committed to raising $1 million through men’s groups and congregations across Canada.

Voices in the Ruins was filmed in July 2009, and is a co-operative effort of the IECA and The United Church of Canada.

Scriptural context: Luke 10:25–37

OBJECTIVES

• To promote awareness and direct engagement in the project undertaken by the Men’s Ministries Network of the United Church to support the rebuilding of the Lutamo School in Dondi, central Angola.
• To ask congregations to donate to the Dondi Project, to help our Angolan partners achieve their dream.
• To encourage United Church men to use this project as the starting point for creating a congregational group and for joining the Men’s Ministries Network.
• To help participants learn about Angola and about our long-term partnership with the IECA.
• To reflect on who our neighbours are, and on our responses to calls for assistance.

PREPARATION AND SUPPLIES

(For leaders/facilitators)
• To prepare to lead the discussion, reflect on your faith tradition and its relationship to caring for poor and neglected people in the world.
• What does your faith say about justice and care for others? Jot down relevant Bible passages. Read Luke 10:25–37.
• Bring a map of Africa (download one from the Internet or use an atlas) so people can locate Angola.
• Order free materials from the Men’s Ministries Network. (See the contact details on the back page.)
• The 2010 DVD Minutes for Mission (sent to every pastoral charge in the April 2010 Infopac) includes a 5-min. Dondi story. The clip is also on YouTube.
• Organize equipment for showing the DVD: a DVD player or a computer that plays DVDs, a projector, a screen, and speakers.
• Prepare the meeting space for easy viewing of the video.
• Gather flip chart, paper, markers, and pencils to record ideas.
• Optional: provide snacks and drinks/name tags.

WELCOME AND OPENING (5 min.)

• Welcome participants. Open the session with a personal prayer or ask participants to gather for a moment of silence.
• Introduce the Dondi Project as the focus of this study group.
• Read Luke 10:25–37.

INTRODUCTIONS (2–10 min.)

Ask people to introduce themselves and to say why they have come.
DONDI VIDEO (10–35 min.)

Introduce the video.

• The Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA) has been our partner for over a hundred years
• Men of the United Church are invited to help rebuild a school that we helped build originally. Show a map of Angola and the Huambo Province. The estimated cost of rebuilding is $1 million.
• The school was destroyed in a 27-year civil war.
• Education in rural areas is lagging behind that in the cities. For Angolans to lift themselves out of the past, they recognize they need educated people.
• Watch the video. (5 min. or 21 min., depending on which version you show)

GROUP DISCUSSION (30 min.)

Rearrange the seating for small-group discussions. Provide flip charts, markers, paper, and pencils. Ask one person to be the leader/scribe in each group. The leader /scribe will ask the following questions and record the answers.

• What is this video about? What is its meaning?
(2–3 answers)
• What scenes and people do you recall from the film? (An answer from each person)
• What sounds do you remember? What dialogue do you recall? (3–4 answers)
• Where did you notice emotions being expressed in the video? (3–4 answers)
• What did you find most touching? (2–3 answers)
• What surprised you? (1 answer)
• How does the Bible passage we read resonate with this story?
• Do you have questions about the project?
• Do we (as individuals/as a group) want to help the Dondi Project reach its goal?
• What immediate financial commitment can we make?

• What further financial commitment can we make through other fundraising efforts?
• What groups in the congregation might like to join us—youth, the UCW, Sunday school?

ACTION PLAN (10 min.)

Decide who will be responsible for following up on the top 3 actions. This may be an individual for each or a small task force of volunteers. Allow time to be set for a follow up meeting date to be set and a time for the task force to report back to the group/congregation as appropriate.

IDEAS FOR FURTHER INVOLVEMENT

• Walkathon to raise funds for the Dondi Project
• Drumming events with a screening of the DVD
• Multi-generational dinner events with a screening of the DVD and a discussion (as above)
• Participate in a National Drumathon: Oct. 1–2, 2010

CONTACT

The Rev. Lloyd Paul, Men’s Ministries Network
Mail: The United Church of Canada, 3250 Bloor St. West, Suite 300, Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4
Toll-Free: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 4046
E-mail: lpaul@united-church.ca
Visit: http://dondiproject.com/ and http://www.united-church.ca/

Here is a PDF version of Dondi  DVD Study Guide

© 2010 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice.

President’s Report for January, 2010

Greetings of the season to all!

When it came to writing this month’s article I was confounded by the choice of subject matter. There was much to talk about at year end. So rather than focus on one, topic this month’s report will provide snippets of information on various topics.


AOTSers on Dondi Steering Committee

Former AOTS presidents Bill Love, Wally Shoults, Western Vice President Harvey Douglas and President-elect David Morris have all joined the Dondi Steering Committee as AOTS representatives. This is great news and a very positive boost for the work of what was a small steering committee.

The Dondi Project’s goal is to raise a total of 1.3 million dollars principally to rebuild a school in Angola. A Western Tour built around drumming circles led by Abbey North Drummers has just been completed. Bill, Wally and Harvey were all front and centre for that tour during the fall. The next big development for Dondi will be on January 15 in Toronto where a planning meeting will take place with various members of the steering committee and the church.

This is perhaps the biggest news of the month. John Patterson, who is co-chair of the Dondi Steering Committee had a very productive meeting in December with Bruce Gregerson senior United Church staff person about how the campaign will unfold. The new broadened steering committee looks forward to launching a whole series of initiatives to capitalize on the successful Western Tour and move the fundraising effort further ahead toward its goal.

Christmas Thoughts

I acted as a narrator for our church’s Christmas pageant this year. The event was advertised as non-traditional. But in following the birth of Jesus Biblically we learned that many of the traditions we include in our pageants are not actually part of the Christmas story. We blend our representations of the birth of Jesus into something that never really was. Our tradition of Christmas includes a star and an innkeeper and angels and wise men and shepherds and animals but that scenario is not literally represented in the Bible at all.

Over time we have traditionally interpreted the story time and striven to keep the message.

The year’s pageant allowed us to refocus on the message anew; that to live a life as Jesus lived requires compassion, generosity, gratitude, joy, justice, love, mercy and peace.

It is fine for tradition to shape and mould the story so long as the central message remains in place.

A Time of Sorrow and Brokenness

In the midst of our celebrations for the life of Jesus so much of what we see around us looks broken. As I write this note we absorb the news of the deaths of four Canadian soldiers and a journalist in an attack by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

These deaths cause us much grief as Canadians. Historically, we have always seen ourselves as doing the right thing – standing for justice. Certainly our peacekeeping efforts defined us this way. As a society we have believed we were doing the right thing.

Now in Afghanistan our children are dying for this notion of ‘doing the right thing’. And while death is a consequence of war and while there are just struggles to wage, the question in Afghanistan remains. Is the right thing doable?

Perhaps this is the central question. If our mission there is not achievable then we are putting our children in great danger. And let us be clear about that. There are very few young people in our House of Parliament. It has always been an easy thing for old men to send young men and women to war. And as societal parents to the young people of our country that we put in harm’s way, we have a duty of care for their well-being, as well as those they are organized to protect.

Copenhagen Controversy

At the recent Copenhagen Conference Canada was held in disrepute when our intransigence isolated us internationally with member nations calling for sanctions against Canada.

In her blog about her Copenhagen experience moderator Mardi Tindal indicated that she was looking forward to a worship experience in her home congregation: "I need to worship this morning where it's safe for me to weep over the millions of lives that have just been lost due to the lack of a climate agreement."

Kairos Funding Cut and the Bogeyman of Antisemitism

In a statement about the recent federal government cut to Kairos funding the organization stated: “For more than 35 years, KAIROS and its precursor organizations have been funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). KAIROS has said the decision to cut CIDA funding will have a devastating impact on KAIROS’ overseas partners and the thousands of marginalized people in local communities that these partners support.”

As an ecumenical organization Kairos has stood on the side of those in the world who have no voice. KAIROS works with global partners on a range of social justice issues, including human rights in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Dissent in a democratic country is a necessary ingredient for the healthful functioning of society, in much the same way a free press and media are. When government attempts to quash this dissent it undermines critical commentary and discussion on world issues. In this case the government has equated criticism of the government Israel with antisemitism. This is not helpful.

Website News

Finally, Mark Browning has been developing some website initiatives which bear some examination. I would invite everyone to follow leads from our own website to check out the various initiatives and social media opportunities that do exist for AOTS as we develop this aspect of our work – connecting with men inside and outside of the church.
 
AOTS National President Jim McKibbin