Ask The Question Again.... what is the most current change or improvement for "how we do church"?

 

We ran out of time for a number of questions asked in worship on February 19. Here are responses to those questions.  Red questions were submitted on line.  Blue questions were hand written submissions from Sunday.

A quick reminder that these are my opinions. They do not represent any "official" position of First Congregational Church of La Grange, or of the United Church of Christ. 

• Beside the doxology, what is the most current change or improvement for "how we do church"?

First, I want to be clear that when we talk about "How We Do Church," we're not talking about ONLY worship.  The more profound changes have to do with how we see our role in the world around us, how we go about approaching our call to "Love Your Neighbor As Yourself," how we utilize our assets to do the greatest good, and how we involve members in making change in our community, the region, and indeed the world. These changes will deeply affect how we organize ourselves, how we chose leadership and staff, and how we interact with one another.  This is much deeper than just our weekly gathering. This is about our very identity.

The most significant thing we are doing is reimagining our future. Beginning with the Futures Lab and continuing with the work of the Futures Team, we are listening, discerning, and imagining what the next 142 years of FCCLG will be. 

In terms of worship, a lot has changed.  

• We are making use of the wide variety of music available to us by not limiting ourselves to what is in the 1989 hymnals. We are instead printing music in the bulletins.
• We are encouraging more congregational participation in the leadership of worship.
• We have made a commitment to creating multisensory experiences happen in worship
• We are reaching out to different styles of worship; Messy Church on the fifth Sundays is one example. 
• We are encouraging the use of electronic bulletins so that we use less paper. 
• We are intentionally designing worship with the remote participants in mind, making use of on screen supplements and graphics. 

These, however, are only a miniscule part of "how we do church" because "doing church" involves a lot more than just Sunday Morning.  

Stay tuned for reports of the findings of the Futures Team.  From them you will hear recommendations about 

• Involving all ages and stages in mission work
• Innovative ways to involve all ages in faith development
• Ideas about our on-line presence and engagement of off-site participants
• The needs of our community that we might engage
• Partnering with other agencies and organizations to make a difference in the community and the world
• New Concepts about how we organize ourselves
• And a whole lot more

Carly's Retiring? What?

We ran out of time for a number of questions asked in worship on February 19. Here are responses to those questions.  Red questions were submitted on line.  Blue questions were hand written submissions from Sunday.

A quick reminder that these are my opinions. They do not represent any "official" position of First Congregational Church of La Grange, or of the United Church of Christ. 

A Guest Post from Church Moderator Jean O'Brien to respond to the question: 

• What is the church leadership doing to prepare for the transitions of Rev. Carly's retirement in 2024?

As you likely have heard, Carly is planning on retiring in a little more than a year at the end of May 2024.  Thankfully, there are processes in place to help us as we shift from her leadership to the next phase in our congregation's life.  In addition to the formal processes, leadership has made other important plans to assist in a smooth transition.

Mechanically, it will look something like this:  Our Call Agreement with Carly requires her to give the church 90 days' notice of her intent to leave.  The council will then contact the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ to request assistance in finding an interim pastor.  Like most churches, our plan is to get an interim pastor to bridge the gap between permanent pastors.  Interims serve congregations as agents of change and help us be ready to find a fitting permanent leader to take us forward.  Ideally, we will have an interim pastor in place immediately following Carly's departure.  

In addition to the interim pastor and this traditional process, Carly has inspired the Council to start up the Futuring (Futures?) Team as a means of beginning to think about the church independent of Carly or, really, any of us!  The process involves 

1. Envisioning our hopes and dreams for the distant future

2. Planning our near future

3. Restructuring our perception of HOW and WHY we do church

All of these ideas come together to help us define who we are now and who we want to be in the future.  How we think about these concepts will assist us as we go about searching for the spiritual guide who will help us walk that road.    When we are closer to the end of Carly's ministry with us, we will receive guidance from one of the Associate Conference Ministers on how to proceed through this process. 

The book A Sure Foundation  provides Carly and the leadership team a timeline and guide to follow for the retirement of our pastor and our steps forward.  Our immediate future should be a period of discernment, reflection and wild dreaming!  All are invited to walk this journey!