“WHO ARE WE?” CONGREGATIONAL CONVERSATION – November 9   12pm – 2:30 p.m.

AGENDA ITEM

WHO

TIME

DESIRED OUTCOME

NOTES

Lunch: 12:00 – 12:30 p.m.

1.        Welcome

Lee / Humanists

12:30

1.        Chalice Lighting

Rev. Greg

12:35

Gather and Ground participants

1.        Introductions of Transition Team and Facilitators

Transition Team

12:40

Introduce members of the Transition Team.

1.        Covenant of Conversation

Transition Team

12:45

Introduce the covenant we used in the last conversation and ask if there is something anyone in the group needs to fully participate. Finally, when everything is up there, ask for a show of hands of everyone who is willing to participate in the conversation with this covenant as our guide.

1.        Talk about the process we’ll use for the conversation and introduce the Key Programmatic Areas the Transition Team identified that we’ll be using today.

Rev. Greg

12:50

People know the key programmatic areas of the church to choose from:

1. Sunday Worship / Rites of Passage / Vespers
   (Services are transformational, relevant, accessible, skillfully done, diverse)
2. Music
   (Music in worship/presentation, as a teaching program, in RE, special events, fundraising, pastoral care, justice, etc.)
3. Religious Education for children/ youth
   (Children are safe, getting powerful/relevant programming, are integrated into the rest of the church)
4. Adult Education Programming
   (Personal Theology, Adult classes, Small Group Ministry, Diversity Training)
5. Community Caring
   (Pastoral services – providing meals/rides/care during crisis; pastoral counseling during transition, Caring Circle, Super-cards, etc.)
6. Faith in Action
   (The church’s participation in the justice issues and well being of the larger community – CCISCO, GRIP, Read Aloud, etc)
7. Membership
   (Outreach informing community who we are and what we do; hospitality/warmth to visitors; education / acclimation / integration of new members; retention of existing members)
8. Communication
   (announcements – verbal / written / electronic, website, newsletter, phone-tree, dissemination of critical information)
9. Finance
   (pledging, fundraising, budget creation and management, communication to stakeholders)
10. Facility Management
    (functionality, appearance, event management, building and land use)
11. Governance
    (Clarity and power of vision, Organizational clarity, Operational management, Cohesive and effective organizational structure)
12. Community Health
    (Presence / support / development of Leadership; Individual and Institutional Trust; ability to recognize / address / manage conflict; capacity for collaboration / coordination)

Ideally we would have an average of 7-10 people in each group.   We may have to ask people to switch to other groups if there is a radical imbalance (remembering to note what it means if no one chooses to align with an important area). It would be a good idea to try to recruit some key players who WE KNOW will be present and who will be participating in the group.

1.        Self Introductions

All

1:00

Facilitators go first to introduce themselves and what KPA they will be facilitating. Then, ask each participant to say their name, and pick one of the KPAs above. If they wish, they can precede the announcement of their selection with

1.     The area of the church that I have had involvement / experience in is…
2.     The area of the church that has won my heart is….
3.     The area of the church that I think I can make positive contributions to is….

The area of the church I would like to see thriving is…

1.        Small Group Conversations I

Facilitators

1:20

1.          I.            Take turns for people to BRIEFLY share why they picked this area.
2.        II.            Where within these areas are we seeing compelling / inspiring / motivating energy and enthusiasm?  
3.      III.            Where is energy being lost – OR – in what areas could an influx of energy / leadership make a difference to the program and to the church as a whole?  

The following are a lens that participants can consider that will help them evaluate beyond their own pre-dispositions

How is the

–          Quality and effectiveness of programming

–          Quality of support of programming (financial, organizational leadership, attendance and participation)

–          Clarity and Transparency of the Process – how the program operates, how decisions are made, how to participate and become involved in leadership

–          Integration and collaboration with other programming in the church

Relevance and Incorporation into the vision of the church

1.        Report out

Facilitators – Recorder

1:45

Facilitators report out for everyone to hear.   Recorder takes notes for people to read.

1.        Summary of comments from the 1 to 1 conversations

Rev. Greg

2:15

Rev. Greg projects a list of what he heard expressed during the 1-to-1 conversations and during his brief observations so far about what in the church is energy-giving (anabolic) and what is energy-draining (catabolic)?

1.     Epiphanies

All

2:25

What did we learn?

What can we appreciate?

What would we identify that would make the conversation more helpful?  

11.  Housekeeping

2:30

What to expect in terms of feedback and when the next congregational Conversation is Jan 11 “Where Are We Going”