Come to the Congregational Meeting, on June 2nd at noon, to help the Pastoral Search Committee get a jump start on our Church Profile. Committee members will write the profile this summer to advertise our pastoral opening. In it, they will describe our congregational life, the future we want to claim, and the kind of pastor we seek to walk with us into that future.
Writing the profile is a big job. To get an idea of what is involved, you might want to take a look at the template. Not merely a product-oriented exercise, it should be a journey of reflection and discovery. The better the process, the more likely the profile will serve the congregation well.
You can help the committee by telling vivid, true stories about who we are, the neighbors we serve, and who God is calling us to become. Think of your stories as word-pictures that illustrate our congregational life:
- How do we experience the Word and nurture Spirit?
- How do we embody the Word through service to our neighbors?
- How do we embody the Word in our communal life?
To capture your stories, we will use an adapted version of “Open Space Technology” in this meeting. OST creates space for creative—potentially transformative—conversations. We want to catch as many stories as you can tell, in a short but productive hour.
What will it look like?
You create the agenda: You are invited to propose a theme for a Storytelling Circle. Circles will be scheduled in breakout spaces and posted on a wall, up to three at a time in two 30-minute sessions.
Marketplace of themes: You choose to join one or two Circles.
Roles in a Circle: Each Circle will have a facilitator and a recorder. The facilitator will moderate the storytellers’ interaction. The recorder will capture their main points, in real time, on paper that everyone in the Circle can see. (We will also use audio recording to capture full stories.)
The Law of Two Feet: If you find yourself in a situation where you are not contributing or engaging, move somewhere where you can.
You can be a Bumblebee: Choose to move from Circle to Circle, if you like, cross-pollinating ideas. You can catch up on the conversation by reading the points that have been recorded.
You can be a Butterfly: Take time out from the Circles and reflect on what you have heard. You might find another Butterfly to share your thoughts with.
The stories will be published: If we are going to record the stories, you should be able to read them, right? After the meeting, we will make the stories available. Stories often inspire more stories. We can keep telling stories as long as the search committee members need them!