"Groups" are what Yahoo calls email lists, and one of them is -- you guessed it -- congregational development
The official Yahoo description says "The Congregational Development e-list is available for leaders of parishes and dioceses, of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, to explore congregational development. This is a place to ask for and offer help; seek and provide resources; explore, wonder about and discover issues in congregational development. The list is sponsored by CDI Trainers." (CDI Trainers are the people who do the condev training in Deer Isle in the summer, and get good reports. Bob Gallagher, their head, is one of the godfathers/mothers of the current generation of condev consultants.) I've been a member of this Yahoo group for a while, and find it mostly useful without being another fill-my-inbox list. It's a great place to ask questions and get back some thoughtful responses from folks who've "been there." Try it. If you don't like it, it's easy to unsubscribe. And yes, it's free.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams spoke this morning at Trinity Institute in NYC. I was only able to see part of the webcast (it's archived: check it out), but what he said in answering this question really was great: "In the midst of our transient society, what can the Church do to give folks some stability?"
His brief answer didn't sound particularly "churchy," but it really is at the heart of who we are. ++Rowan's answer was something like "Churches should do everything they can to promote friendships." (By the way, he also highlighted technology, and particularly email/texting/instant messaging, as one way to do this. Watch the Trinity Instititute Q&A for more.)
Just as the church is beginning to recognize that "GenX" exists comes this "startling" news: the first "GenYers" finish college this year.
Sociologists, marketers and others have led the way in commenting on how the "Millenials" differ from GenX or earlier generations. One involved observer, Penny Rue, (Dean of Students::University of Virginia), admires the seemless technological life of her students: "my work with students and the observations of other trend watchers have illuminated several aspects of today's students that relate directly to their life online. For them, technology is a way of life, a part of the background. Students today take it for granted in the same way that I never questioned that electricity was available in a wall outlet." To read the complete article, click here.
The committee making the grants for the Creative Ministry Fund met last week to organize and plan the beginning of its work. Members are: Kathleen Crisp, Jim de Mersman, Mary Moore Gaines, Scott Hayashi, Bob Honeychurch and Mark Stanley.
They set the deadlines for the first three granting cycles (see the separate entry for details), and discussed creating policies to assist them in their work. They will be assisted by a large group (20+) of clergy and laypeople who will be the "site interviewers" for each application. Contact me if you'd like to learn more about any of this.
It seems like everybody's talking about starting new worship services. "Contemporary" worship/style seems to be what's preferred by the (nonchurched) folks in the Bay Area. (Just do a PERCEPT "FirstView", and you'll see what I mean). But what's "contemporary" in 2003+??
A lot of people have a lot of ideas. Robert Webber (Episcopalian/evangelical/scholar/author of the book Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail that shook up some thinking a few years ago) says this:
"Future worship will move toward these style characteristics:
More use of ritual and symbol
More spaces for quiet and contemplation
More frequent celebration of communion
High participation
Convergence of musical styles
More use of string and wind instruments
Recovery of the Christian year as a spiritual discipline
"The future of worship can be caught in the phrase 'ancient worship with a contemporary flare.' Millennials don't want fifties worship. They want, as one said to me, 'the old stuff.' They want substance, depth, challenge, and encounter."
Webber says a lot more. If you're planning a new service this is a must-read. See: How Will the Millennials Worship? A Snapshot of the Very Near Future.
News flash: "The generation dubbed the "millennials" (those born since 1982)" are "more likely to be joining a faith community, especially one in an orthodox tradition." And in this case, "orthodox," doesn't mean conservative theology.
So say Neil Howe and William Strauss, authors of the book Millennials Rising, and the duo best-known in "Millenial" research. Generation studies are always generalities, but this article (by the excellent religion writer for the Honolulu Advertizer) offers some tantalizing food for thought for congregational leaders planning for the future. See 'Millennials' Search for Solutions in Religions .
"Reinventing the urban church" is the subtitle of this conference co-sponsored by the (Episcopal) College of Preachers and Wake Forest U Divinity School. Dates: 7 June -12 June 2003. It's got some great leaders, including Johnny Ray Youngblood (pastor of the 8000 member St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NYC, and star of the book Upon This Rock) and Marion Wright Edelman.
This is their 4th annual conference "addressing issues for urban congregations in all denominations" and costs $695. For more info, and reservations, click
A whole day of condev aerobics awaits you at the May 17 Diocal Ministry Conference.
If you want to know how to welcome newcomers; how people have started services to attract newcomers; how to sort the wheat from the chaff, when it comes to condev resources; or how to navigate through congregational conflict: have we got a day for you! For more info, see the descriptions of workshops 20,21,22 and 23 of Mission and Ministry: Embracing All God's People. For more info,click here.
The Episcopal Church grew in average Sunday attendance over the past ten years (Average Sunday Attendance, or "ASA", --rather than membership -- is the generally-accepted "real" number showing a congregation's numerical strength). That's good news. What may surprise you is where the growth came from: a new study by the Episcopal Church's statistics guru has reached this surprising conclusion: "The typical Episcopal congregation has average Sunday attendance of 80 persons. It is the typical Episcopal church that has been our primary source of growth during the last decade."
The author is Dr. Kirk Hadaway, director of research at the Episcopal Church Center. To read his important new article "Congregation Size and Church Growth in the Episcopal Church,"Click Here
The overall picture is, as you might expect, a little more complicated than this, and smaller congregations have many challenges (as we know). This is one of those "statistical" articles you ought read -- and I promise it's not just for people who like numbers.
Startup/Startover (or "SUSO", as it is affectionately called), is the name of the Episcopal Church's week-long conference on congregational development and church growth. It's led by a f a b u l o u s group of leaders (including Charles Fulton, head of congdev at the Episcopal Church Center in NYC) and always gets rave reviews. A lot of people from Diocal have gone and loved it, benefited from it, and recommend it. Alas, the next conference (in June) is oversubscribed. For info on a September conference, and future conferences, continue reading.
The June "SUSO" has filled to capacity, so a third "Startup/Startover" conference will be held this year, in New Orleans.
Here's the official word: "The registration deadline is September 8, when many church leaders will have just returned from vacation and will be launching new fall work. SUSO encourages registration before the summer and fall schedules distract from the Sept. 8 registration deadline." :))
For more info: click here
Future conferences are scheduled as follows:
October 13-17, 2003 New Orleans
April 26-30, 2004 Sarasota, Florida
October, 2004 (tentative) Denver
St. Barts, NYC has a byzantine church building and a postmodern attitude. They are inviting people to visit and learn how their Manhattan church went from landmark crisis to landmark growth.
"Vestry Papers" is the name of the Cornerstone Project's newsletter "To Encourage and Guide Those Called by God to Lead Episcopal Congregations."
VPs come out every other month, and often have a theme The latest (April/May 2003) has some fine (short) articles on congregational transitions, particularly when new clergy leadership is called. If you'd like a copy, contact me. And, consider a subscription for your vestry. More info: click here
This news release from the Episcopal Church's Seminary of the Southwest contains exciting news about a new opportunity for cyber-study to enrich our congregational ministries.
Seminary of the Southwest offers premier Hispanic Ministry online course
AUSTIN, TEXAS - Registration is now open for the first Hispanic
Ministry course to be offered online by an Episcopal seminary.
The spring slate of online courses at the Episcopal Seminary of the
Southwest includes "Historical and Cultural Contexts for Hispanic
Ministry." The Rev. Dr. Paul Barton, assistant professor of Hispanic
studies at the seminary, will offer the course April 14 through May
23.
While many of the 11 seminaries in the Episcopal Church offer online
courses, no offering has focused solely on Hispanic ministry, said
the Rev. Canon Daniel Caballero, Hispanic ministry missioner of the
Episcopal Church.
Since Hispanic ministry does not occur in a social and cultural
vacuum, the course stresses taking into account the historical and
cultural contexts of particular communities and congregations.
There are no educational prerequisites for this Lay School online
course. The six-week class is limited to 25 persons and tuition is
$65 per course. Detailed course description of the Barton course and
two others, as well as a registration l