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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Welcome to our Blog
Welcome everyone to our very first UCT blog. This is a great place for us to have a conversation about faith issues. Feel free to say what you want to and lets keep the conversation going. Marguerite
7 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Hurrah!
I'm toasting the new venue and initiative here with a glass of [edited]. Bill Millford, are you out there in the wilds of New England somewhere? Ready to belly up to the theological bar? Hope all goes well with the younger generation. Give them a hug for us.
On July 20 in Adult Education, we had a great discussion on the mission of this church in our lives, the role of the congregation at the UCT, what possibilities exist or could be created for the leaders in the congregation to support and assist the minister and finally the role of the minister in our church. The discussion pointed out the need for examining the historical basis for this church and its role in community action, the budgetary and leadership processes that reflect the priorities of the church today and whether those ideals that created this church are being reflected in our current operation or not. The question was asked, if the ideals we have are not being reflected in our operations today, what should we as a congregation do to redefine or resharpen the mission of the church in 2008 and going forward?
What I remember of the discussion included: Agnes stated that the definition of the mission of the church, its goals and how you measure success is important. That ties in with what many of us do in our jobs. The community we serve includes not just the members of the church but also the families they interact with, their friends, the visitors on Sunday and a much larger community than you would initially realize. Jan correctly pointed out that if we do not know what we want to do we certainly are not going to effectively hire someone to lead us there. Defining the mission is very important in the process. Stephanie stated that the role of social activism in the church, from the budgetary process to the definition of the church's mission in the community, has changed. She said that historically the commitment of the church was greater in the community action area and that we should examine our priorities. Bill commented on the role of social activism and what can be done to foster more participation. Marguerite added that we do have "customers" in the church congregation, such as the teen agers who attend with family members, first time visitors, and members of the congregation who come to church infrequently but consider themselves part of the congregation that others that join us on Sundays for services. "What are we doing to serve them?" is a very relevant inquiry. Susan reflected that the mission statement of the church and "the Covenant" are of utmost importance in defining who we are as a congregation, and what we choose to be in the future. Kim discussed the difference between change in the greater understood mission of the church and change that comes from reactivity to comments or discussions and to current events. Sometimes it is necessary to look at the bigger picture and not change things until you understand the impacts and ramifications of the action you are going to take.
Susan and Kim agreed to provide some lay leadership of their own for next week's discussion of the role of Christian Education in the church and specifically what we as members of the Adult Education class at UCT could work towards in our Sunday discussion, or something of that sort. (Frankly, it was a quick wrap up at the end and I probably missed the essential points).
Notwithstanding, Susan will be getting information out to you on this topic, if she chooses to, for next week.
Hey there bloggers ... we havent had much posted. Well Im looking fwd to resuming our formal Adult Ed class - just waiting for Bill Milford to come back ... you cant start without the court jester present. The book is John Spong's "Why Christianity Must Change or Die". Order it now ... second hand copies abound. And sign up for the January Adventure too - marcus borg will be one of the two speakers. See info in my email and in narthex. Places will be filled by end of Sept probably so dont delay. Marguerite
Often cited, but never quoted - it seems only right that I weigh in here. Not quite sure what the topic is but that has never stopped me before. So I will chose the topic of "Talking About God Without Fear of Condemnation" - and for that, I would like to commend our Adult Ed. class.
We venture into the crags of suspicion and skepticism with a sense of bonding to one another but without the sense that we need share each others' beliefs. Kudos to Marguerite for trying to tame the unruly bunch. I enjoy the stimulation, I enjoy the humor, but mostly I enjoy the good company. Bill Milford
I agree with Bill. One of the great things about the Adult Ed class is that there are so many different perspectives, and they are all valued and respected.
I wish even more of our church members were reading Spong's book and talking about it!
Hi all. I am crawling back out of the deep hole of the first semester at Emory. I have a little less hair and what I do have is gray. I am also a tad bit bigger in size in that fast food runs rampant in these parts. I miss you all and would like to come home for the summer yet do not have a job there. If Adult Ed is offered over the Summer I would love to participate as well. If anyone knows of a job, temporarily between middle of May to middle of August, please let me know. I will be looking in Atlanta, yet would rather be home. I will also be looking for someone to sublet my apt here during that time. I am not beyond cleaning floors, toilets, etc. :) I have my last final on the 15th and prayers are in order, I will be coming home on Dec 17th until Jan 2nd. Hope to see you all then! Beth Miles P.S. Glad the blog is here!
HAVE YOUR SAY .... this is a blog for anyone in the United Church in Tallahassee (UCT). It is sponsored by the Adult Education group but open to all. We are exploring issues about our faith, issues generated by our faith, and issues that we sometimes wonder what faith has to contribute. Read our musings and our thinking out loud - agree, disagree, start up a new train of thought. Lets work at expanding our understanding of our faith and how to live it out in a meaningful way in our every day life.
7 comments:
Hurrah!
I'm toasting the new venue and initiative here with a glass of [edited]. Bill Millford, are you out there in the wilds of New England somewhere? Ready to belly up to the theological bar? Hope all goes well with the younger generation. Give them a hug for us.
Onward and upward.
On July 20 in Adult Education, we had a great discussion on the mission of this church in our lives, the role of the congregation at the UCT, what possibilities exist or could be created for the leaders in the congregation to support and assist the minister and finally the role of the minister in our church. The discussion pointed out the need for examining the historical basis for this church and its role in community action, the budgetary and leadership processes that reflect the priorities of the church today and whether those ideals that created this church are being reflected in our current operation or not. The question was asked, if the ideals we have are not being reflected in our operations today, what should we as a congregation do to redefine or resharpen the mission of the church in 2008 and going forward?
What I remember of the discussion included: Agnes stated that the definition of the mission of the church, its goals and how you measure success is important. That ties in with what many of us do in our jobs. The community we serve includes not just the members of the church but also the families they interact with, their friends, the visitors on Sunday and a much larger community than you would initially realize. Jan correctly pointed out that if we do not know what we want to do we certainly are not going to effectively hire someone to lead us there. Defining the mission is very important in the process. Stephanie stated that the role of social activism in the church, from the budgetary process to the definition of the church's mission in the community, has changed. She said that historically the commitment of the church was greater in the community action area and that we should examine our priorities. Bill commented on the role of social activism and what can be done to foster more participation. Marguerite added that we do have "customers" in the church congregation, such as the teen agers who attend with family members, first time visitors, and members of the congregation who come to church infrequently but consider themselves part of the congregation that others that join us on Sundays for services. "What are we doing to serve them?" is a very relevant inquiry. Susan reflected that the mission statement of the church and "the Covenant" are of utmost importance in defining who we are as a congregation, and what we choose to be in the future. Kim discussed the difference between change in the greater understood mission of the church and change that comes from reactivity to comments or discussions and to current events. Sometimes it is necessary to look at the bigger picture and not change things until you understand the impacts and ramifications of the action you are going to take.
Susan and Kim agreed to provide some lay leadership of their own for next week's discussion of the role of Christian Education in the church and specifically what we as members of the Adult Education class at UCT could work towards in our Sunday discussion, or something of that sort. (Frankly, it was a quick wrap up at the end and I probably missed the essential points).
Notwithstanding, Susan will be getting information out to you on this topic, if she chooses to, for next week.
Hey there bloggers ... we havent had much posted. Well Im looking fwd to resuming our formal Adult Ed class - just waiting for Bill Milford to come back ... you cant start without the court jester present. The book is John Spong's "Why Christianity Must Change or Die". Order it now ... second hand copies abound. And sign up for the January Adventure too - marcus borg will be one of the two speakers. See info in my email and in narthex. Places will be filled by end of Sept probably so dont delay.
Marguerite
Let's get this blog humming again!
It would be great to continue the dialogue that we don't have time to finish on Sunday.
Bill Milford did a great job yesterday (Nov. 16) asking us what role we would like Jesus to play in our lives.
My next question is: "IF Jesus is not now fulfilling the role in your life that you'd like Him to take, what is keeping that from happening?"
Any takers?
Often cited, but never quoted - it seems only right that I weigh in here. Not quite sure what the topic is but that has never stopped me before. So I will chose the topic of "Talking About God Without Fear of Condemnation" - and for that, I would like to commend our Adult Ed. class.
We venture into the crags of suspicion and skepticism with a sense of bonding to one another but without the sense that we need share each others' beliefs. Kudos to Marguerite for trying to tame the unruly bunch. I enjoy the stimulation, I enjoy the humor, but mostly I enjoy the good company.
Bill Milford
I agree with Bill. One of the great things about the Adult Ed class is that there are so many different perspectives, and they are all valued and respected.
I wish even more of our church members were reading Spong's book and talking about it!
Gail
Hi all. I am crawling back out of the deep hole of the first semester at Emory. I have a little less hair and what I do have is gray. I am also a tad bit bigger in size in that fast food runs rampant in these parts. I miss you all and would like to come home for the summer yet do not have a job there. If Adult Ed is offered over the Summer I would love to participate as well. If anyone knows of a job, temporarily between middle of May to middle of August, please let me know. I will be looking in Atlanta, yet would rather be home. I will also be looking for someone to sublet my apt here during that time. I am not beyond cleaning floors, toilets, etc. :) I have my last final on the 15th and prayers are in order, I will be coming home on Dec 17th until Jan 2nd. Hope to see you all then! Beth Miles P.S. Glad the blog is here!
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