“Every morning is
Easter morning from now on!” So begins
a children’s song I learned, way back when.
That song has stuck with me over the years. It reminds me that each day brings its own opportunities for new
life in God’s realm. It helps me to
recognize signs of resurrection in the world and to be open to the renewal that
God offers daily. HUCC is one of the
places where I find the spirit of resurrection—alive and well—in many aspects
of our church life!
One of the groups
paying special attention to that spirit is our new Dreaming Team. Made up of
volunteers who came forward at our Annual Meeting, this new team has begun a
process of reflection, research, visioning and discernment in order to guide
our growth as a church. So far we have
met twice. The first meeting was a time
to get to know each other and to imagine how our work might progress. In the second meeting we took a more focused
approach. Who are we as a church? And what might be the next steps in our
journey of faith?
Beginning with the
comments gathered from the congregation, we tried to identify a few common
themes to focus on. Some of the words
that cropped up over and over were: diversity,
unity, respect, hospitality, accessibility, spiritual growth, and communication—and
all of these, seemed to fit under the heading of community. We are already a congregation that values
these qualities, and yet we know we still have much to learn, if we are to grow
as a community united in Christ and caring for God’s world.
So that the team can
delve more deeply into these topics, we have divided ourselves into several
smaller working groups:
1. Christian Practices: This group will be reading a new book called
Christianity for the Rest of Us, by Diana Butler Bass. Recommended by our NY Conference Minister,
the Rev. Geoffrey Black, this book offers reflections on ten traditional
Christian practices: Hospitality,
Discernment, Healing, Contemplation, Testimony, Diversity, Justice, Worship,
Reflection, and Beauty. It looks at
these practices in light of how they can shape the church, keeping us both
rooted in our faith and relevant to today.
Donna Palmer will coordinate this group, and Sandy Johnson and
Laura Markwick will be working with her.
2. Church Visits: This group will visit several other churches in our area, beginning with four of our sister churches in the Genesee Valley Association of the UCC. Through these visits, we hope to get a sense of how these churches have attended to their own growth issues. How do they understand their mission and ministry? What groups have they formed for education and faith development and outreach and youth? How do they worship?
What avenues of
communication have they developed? How
do their buildings and budgets support their ministries? We hope that these visits will provide food
for thought as well as practical strategies for us to consider. Jo Kenyon will coordinate this group,
which also includes Melissa Bauch and Mark Knisely. In addition, Sandy Johnson will be researching the internet for
similar information from a wide range of churches.
3. What is Our Mission?
This group will be continuing the conversation about who we are as
a church and what we are called to do, with an eye toward developing a statement
for the congregation to consider. We
are thinking of mission in very broad terms here, including our ministries to
folks within this congregation, our outreach to the neighborhood, our
participation in the wider church, and our concern for the welfare of the whole
world. We will begin by reflecting on
HUCC’s current mission statement, programs, and ministries, and will also use
resources from the Casting Your Nets program.
Kate Travis will coordinate this group, and Kim Tanner has
offered to work with her.
Dreaming Team members
who missed the last meeting will join us as they are able, and if anyone else
would like to help with this research, please contact the coordinator of the
group that interests you. Pastor Dave
and I will help to resource these groups, and Eugene Ver has joined in the
conversation as well. The working
groups will share their findings with the rest of the Dreaming Team at our next
meeting, which is set for Thursday, May 1 at 7 p.m.
This process may take
a while! Our purpose is not to rush
ahead with “change for change’s sake,” but to find resources and strategies to
support the growth that is already happening in our midst. Our plan is to make regular reports to the
congregation about what we are learning, to solicit your input along the way,
and to make suggestions for future action, as appropriate.
At the same time, we
are aware that our aging building needs some special attention in order to
continue meeting the needs of our growing congregation. How can we attend to these needs in a timely
manner, and yet not rush through the process of discerning our mission? One suggestion was to form a fourth group
to look directly at building issues and possibly to undertake a feasibility
study of the building, but we felt we would need help from beyond the Dreaming
Team in order to do that. We will be
addressing this question with the Church Council and the Trustees at their
upcoming meetings.
Every day’s
Resurrection Day! Let’s keep looking
for signs of new life and growth…and dedicate ourselves to nurturing that
growth, in ourselves and in others.
Pastor Martha