Diane reports:
We have had our two additional cottage meetings and there was good conversation at both. On Wednesday we had one person outside of the transition team (TT) and there were 18 people plus 5 TT members at the second one.
Financial stability was a subject at both sessions. There was a comment about not being a church that's so focused on money. It seems to be a conundrum as it's a necessary subject; it takes money to keep the church viable.
Communication was discussed at the first one and there were comments about communicating what's going on outside of church hours. Sharing more of our lives than just Sunday morning, and being able to be supportive of individual members/families when we know their stories.
Sunday's meeting seemed to have more open discussion in general. Someone suggested that everyone be heard, and most everyone participated. There were a couple of specific "hopes" mentioned, but soon we were talking about the bigger picture. We want to be a more community oriented church. And we need to remember that this is a process. This is not going to happen overnight and we need to stay committed to the process.
Some of the specific qualities in a pastor: one who can focus on our community outside of the church; someone younger, or more recently out of seminary (a second career); an immigrant pastor; have a global vision with a community focus; a change agent; a facilitator.
There was discussion about a church whose focus was all about social needs and that was compared to a Kiwanis club. If that's what you want, you can join a club, but most people want worship as well. We need to find the balance between worship and social justice work.
There are going to be changes. We are in the middle of change and some will be uncomfortable with this, with any change. A good suggestion (in my opinion) was to send a letter out to the congregation acknowledging the change and the discomfort that some may be experiencing, but to hold on. Stay for the reasons that have kept you here so far and commit to walking together through the process.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Thursday, June 2, 2016
6/02 Transition Team Meeting
Agenda
We began the meeting with a devotion based on Matthew 28:16-20. Four short verses with lots to ponder. Two of the questions we were asked to ponder over: what are the "knots" in the congregation that keep us bound? what is the purpose of Creator Lutheran Church?
We started with a discussion of closing the survey which lead to a much wider discussion of what we really have learned about the hopes, dreams, and goals of the people who make up Creator. We decided to leave the survey open; in addition, it was decided we needed to reengage with our church family and try to delve deeper into the hopes and dreams.
We momentarily thought about creating a second survey and quickly realized that wasn't the approach we needed. We have set up two more listening sessions with the focus on hopes and dreams. We are also offering opportunities for one to ones with anyone who desires.
Nick was meeting with the youth on Sunday the 5th and was going to try to get them to open up on their hopes and dreams for this transition and beyond.
Jan had accumulated much detailed information on the demographics of the area schools. Some surprising numbers were appearing, especially with the number of different languages in the various schools. We decided it was good information but did not want to pursue it at the moment.
We set dates for the two sessions for further discussion: June 22nd (Wednesday) at 7PM at the church, and June 26th (Sunday) after worship. The focus will be on hopes and dreams for the future and what is the purpose of Creator.
We will try to close the survey by July 1st (unless the new discussions generate more activity). We are also offering people an opportunity to submit their thoughts in writing or schedule one to ones. In July, we will go over the data and send Gary any updated information we have gleaned.
The next transition team meeting will be Wednesday, July 13th, 6:30 at the church. As the document comes together, we will edit it as a team.
The hope is that we will have the MSP ready to give to council by September. Pastor will sent out the email to everyone about the two new meetings we are holding.
- Setting Important Next Dates and Transition Planning (bring your calendars)
- Devotional
- Housekeeping
- Review Individual One-to-one and relational work
- Analyze and consolidate MSP responses
- MSP Presentation to council and congregation
- Schedule next meeting
We began the meeting with a devotion based on Matthew 28:16-20. Four short verses with lots to ponder. Two of the questions we were asked to ponder over: what are the "knots" in the congregation that keep us bound? what is the purpose of Creator Lutheran Church?
We started with a discussion of closing the survey which lead to a much wider discussion of what we really have learned about the hopes, dreams, and goals of the people who make up Creator. We decided to leave the survey open; in addition, it was decided we needed to reengage with our church family and try to delve deeper into the hopes and dreams.
We momentarily thought about creating a second survey and quickly realized that wasn't the approach we needed. We have set up two more listening sessions with the focus on hopes and dreams. We are also offering opportunities for one to ones with anyone who desires.
Nick was meeting with the youth on Sunday the 5th and was going to try to get them to open up on their hopes and dreams for this transition and beyond.
Jan had accumulated much detailed information on the demographics of the area schools. Some surprising numbers were appearing, especially with the number of different languages in the various schools. We decided it was good information but did not want to pursue it at the moment.
We set dates for the two sessions for further discussion: June 22nd (Wednesday) at 7PM at the church, and June 26th (Sunday) after worship. The focus will be on hopes and dreams for the future and what is the purpose of Creator.
We will try to close the survey by July 1st (unless the new discussions generate more activity). We are also offering people an opportunity to submit their thoughts in writing or schedule one to ones. In July, we will go over the data and send Gary any updated information we have gleaned.
The next transition team meeting will be Wednesday, July 13th, 6:30 at the church. As the document comes together, we will edit it as a team.
The hope is that we will have the MSP ready to give to council by September. Pastor will sent out the email to everyone about the two new meetings we are holding.
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