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Congregational Support & Development |
Congregational
Support & Development
2009
Two-thousand-nine brought a very special gift to Spirit of Peace.
Spirit of Peace is blessed to receive Derek into membership!
The SOP Retreat with Dr. Paul Parks of the Ecumenical Center for Religion & Health in the UTHSCSA area On August 15, 2009, several members of the Spirit of Peace congregation attended a retreat facilitated by Dr. Paul Parks at the Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health. The all-day retreat was an opportunity for us to examine Spirit of Peace’s strengths, core beliefs, and what we consider to be key leadership positions (1) in the church at this time. We had lively discussions. I appreciated Dr. Parks’ approach, using audiovisual materials he had prepared ahead of time, based on our “homework”. He created more slides at lunch to incorporate what we’d talked about during the morning session. The most memorable exchange for me was our discussion of church size. We discussed a variety of ways to “grow” the church (2) but at one point Dr. Parks asked, as I understood it: if we couldn’t grow beyond our current size, would we be a failure? He answered “no”, in no uncertain terms. He maintained that we are known as a success story just as we are. Other churches are interested in how we do what we do. He commented on what an excellent model we are for flexibility and diversity. We are closer-knit than many congregations and have more interest/involvement in individual situations. Where we considered the ebb and flow of membership a negative, could it be that we are meant to be exactly what we already are: a nontraditional model that welcomes not only folks who want to be regulars, but also the many others who need a temporary safe harbor? They might move on, but we minister to their needs for the time they are with us. I agreed with this view but not everyone did, seeing strength (and musical harmony) in numbers. I can see their point. But what attracted me to this congregation initially was the affinity I felt based on the way the website was presented, and the familiarity engendered by the small size of the congregation once I began regular attendance. Are we meant to find a way to make this nontraditional model work? (2) Among the ways we talked about “growing” the church were technology, print and visual media, and word of mouth.
For more stories about the development of our church over the years before 2008, please click on the following link: congregationaldevelopmentarchives.html. |
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