Courageously building together

In his opening address at the symposium in Gordon’s Bay, in the Western Cape, the chairman of the ACM, Graeme Schnell recounted the story of Christopher Wren’s conversation with three different bricklayers who were working on the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral in the 1600s. When the men were asked by the architect what they were doing, the first replied that he was laying bricks, the second said that he was constructing a wall, and the third answered: “I’m building a cathedral.”

All three bricklayers had the same job, but their perspectives about what they were doing were wildly different. The story shows how the third bricklayer understood his work in relation to others, that together they were building a magnificent building to the glory of God, and that his role was just as important as his fellow artisans’.

The idea of unity, sharing resources and building a stronger association together were some of the key themes that were discussed at the symposium.

Leaders from several organisations within the ACM spent time reviewing its vision and mission and discussing practical ways to implement the national strategy that the ACM developed at its previous leaders' gathering.

Dreaming together

Bates Alheit from FiftyFour, who facilitated the two-day event, shared that by the end of the symposium, there was a clear sense that the ACM is maturing into a new phase of its existence. FiftyFour works with non-profit organisations to help them develop organisational health so that they can continue effectively carrying out their missions. With guidance from FiftyFour’s facilitation tools, the ACM members were able to discuss and propose some practical next steps for the association, which will be celebrating its 30^th anniversary next year.

By nature, an association is very much a sum of its individual parts, and the value of the role that each member organisation plays was a consistent theme that came across. In a beautiful echo of Graeme’s story, the ACM’s general manager, Natalie Turco, reminded delegates about the story of Nehemiah, where people came together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

The theme for this year’s symposium was “Take Courage”, and, as one person shared, the time together instilled courage in the different organisational representatives, and it was clear that the leaders of the association have the courage, and conviction, to galvanise Christians in media in South Africa to build well, together.