6/22 and 6/26 Notes from Small Group Meetings

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.