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