Today is the official 85th anniversary of the United Church of Canada. In some congregations, such as ours, that event has been recognized a couple of times in recent weeks. I heard yesterday that one area UCC congregation has done nothing to celebrate or acknowledge this milestone.
Last night our board met to consider the goals and objectives we set last year for St. Paul's, our expression of the United Church. Our first goal is Matching Christian love with Christian commitment. The objectives are:
Developing a measurable plan, including financial
Communicating strengths and opportunities effectively.
Developing governance and infrastructure that serves our current needs.
Commitment to intergenerational involvement in every aspect of congregational life.
Regularly assessing our community outreach and mission to a wider world.
I appreciated a number of things from last night's meeting. First of all, 32 people attended, a remarkable number, with nearly half being men. Not bad on a Stanley Cup Final game night!
I was impressed by the level of conversation, and the recognition of the important of visioning at a time when we are in transition. I pointed out that churches can either plan for succession or extinction, and we agreed that the former was definitely preferable. I noticed that about a quarter of those participating last night are parents of young children and teens. They represent our succession group.
I began by speaking of Peter's Pentecost sermon in which he promised that in Christ people of all ages will dream dreams and have visions. Then I shared this anonymous nugget:
A vision without a task is but a dream.
A task without a vision is drudgery.
A vision with a task is the hope of the world.
A number of readers were present last night. Comments?
A survey of the congregation would be a start, just to see where they think the church is going and what they think of the goals. I realized after being the clerk of session and head of M&P for many years at a previous church that the board of the church loses touch with the members.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of people dreaming dreams and having visions. I hope some of them are heard.
A good and necessary disucussion. with a very committed (and kindly) group.
ReplyDeleteIt is the rare person that likes change,but if we don't orchestrate the change, it will be put upon us,and we'll like that even less.
The question I keep coming back to is...if we peel away all the layers of comfort and community and ask what God really and truly asks of us, the answers become clearer and that needs to be our vision, and the tasks need follow.
Thanks for the wise and concerned letter from afar read Wednesday evening.
Thanks for the responses. St. Paul's will engage in its third Needs Assessment in eight years, so every member will be invited to participate once again. What congregations discover is that the vast majority of members and adherents are indifferent to being consulted. They want to come to church and assume someone else is at the wheel. I must say again that this is the best congregation I have served for board attendance and multi-generational participation.
ReplyDeleteThose "necessary discussions" seem to be so hard for congregations, but we will continue the effort.
I agree with the working premise of a U.S. brewery that "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing," which in our case is God. I hope you can all drink to that.
I will keep St. Paul's in my prayers as you continue (along with the rest of the United Church) this journey of discernment.
ReplyDelete