SUPPORTING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION

A series of events will take place in March to kickstart new support for innovation across the Church of Scotland.

A joint event with the Scottish Episcopal Church, the workshops over the weekend of March 17-19 will be led by the Rev Lorenzo Lebrija (above), founding director of the US Episcopal Church’s TryTank initiative.

Some of the events are invite-only, for staff, church leadership or specialists in youth ministry, but the session on the morning of Saturday March 19 will be open to everyone, focusing on real life experiments within congregations.

TryTank is described as the church’s ‘Experimental Lab for Church Growth and Innovation’. In an interview for Life and Work in October, the Rev Lebrija said: “We began dreaming up this idea of a think tank for the church. But we kept coming back to the fact that we didn’t just want ideas. We needed to act on them… and so was born TryTank. Not just ideas, we take them into the world and take them for a spin in real places.”

His visit was initially planned for autumn 2021, but postponed due to Covid restrictions. This time it is hoped events can go ahead in-person in Edinburgh.

He said: “I was excited to visit last October so I’m even more excited now. I can’t wait to see how the Holy Spirit is working innovations in the church there. I hope to learn much from you and share some of what we have learned in our work. And, if I’m being totally honest, maybe see one of the red cows!”

Hannah Sanderson, who is leading this new focus for the Church of Scotland, said: “We want to invest in creativity, actively celebrate and support innovation. Let’s build a culture where we can risk trying something new because even if it doesn’t turn out how we thought it would there is always something instructive to learn. There are always new ways to develop our relationships.”

For further information, look out for updates on the Church’s website and social media channels, or contact Hannah on hsanderson@churchofscotland.org.uk