Eastern Hills Friends Newsletter

Worship with us at 1671 Nagel Rd.

Write us at PO Box 54565, Cincinnati, OH 45254-0565

www.easternhillsfriends.org

June 4, 2011

 

Calendar of Events:

Jun. 4                        Women’s Potluck at the Ballingers, 6 pm

Jun. 5                        Miami Center Quarterly Meeting

Jul. 27-31            Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting Annual Session, Earlham College, Richmond, IN

Sep. 2                        Workshop for Evangelism—Wilmington Yearly Meeting

Additional Information:

• Please use the following email address when contacting the clerk of Eastern Hills Friends Meeting: clerk.easternhills@gmail.com.

• GAPP is selling bumper stickers. They are available on the table in the gathering room or from Martha Viehmann for $1.

• Our library is now catalogued on LibraryThing! Go to http://www.easternhillsfriends.org/aboutmeeting.htm and follow Our Library Catalog link.

• Looking for a volunteer opportunity? You are needed at the Jimmy Heath House. Bring: a lunch or dinner once, or on an ongoing basis, for 30-35 people (full kitchen on site); paper plates, cups, and napkins for same # of people; beverages if other than coffee (coffee and fixings already on site); also, think about activities to engage the residents, such as bingo, chess, checkers, card games. Contact David Elkins (Program Coordinator) at 473-4759 or delkins@otrch.org.

• The 191^st Annual Session of the Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting will be held July 27-31 at Earlham College in Richmond, IN. For more information, including registration forms, go to: http://www.quaker.org/ovym/index_files/AnnualSessions.htm.

• On July 27-31, the FUM Triennial will meet in Wilmington. There is need for a variety of volunteers including ushers, flower providers, luggage carriers, greeters at the campus and at airports. Also, we need to decide if we would we like to host visitors at our meeting on the Sunday morning. To help, contact Libbie Curry (937-382-4608) or Lois Hachney (937-382-5053). 

Eastern Hills Ministry and Counsel —Notes from a workshop presented by J. Brent Bill in April entitled: Worship Groups and Other Alternatives to ‘Traditional’ Church: A Conversation about the Revitalization of the Quaker Message in America – provided by Franchot Ballinger

Median Quaker congregation size is about 75 people with a $55,000 budget. Churches/congregations are not necessarily community or neighborhood organizations. Most Quaker meetings/churches are diminishing in number. FGC numbers grew slightly.

 A survey asking what makes a healthy congregation found that 57% of new people in congregations are transfers. First-timers make up the smallest group. Who’s going to church?

•            29% couples w/no kids

•            14% live alone

•            41% couples w/kids

•            6% an adult w/kids

•            10% adults no kids

•            16% never married

•            55% in first marriage

•            11% remarried

•            8% divorced

•            8% widowed

 No one is attracting the “unchurched.”

Successful congregations:

1.            Help worshippers grow in faith (small congregations more successful at this than large)

2.            Worship services that meet worshippers’ needs

3.            Worshippers involved in congregational activities

4.            Provide sense of belonging and fellowship

5.            Care for young people

6.            Reach out to and serve those outside their doors

7.            Feel comfortable sharing faith with others

8.            Welcome newcomers and make them part of the faith community

9.            Worshippers share in leadership and are encouraged to use their spiritual gifts

10.            Look to the future and are positive about their future

Only three congregational strengths actually turned out to be predictors of numerical growth. These are 1) caring for children and youth; 2) welcoming new people: and 3) getting people to participate in the congregation (from U.S. Congregations.org).

Create working groups around ministries, not committees

There is very little relationship between growth and theological orientation. What is essential is to create a community where people meet God and involve children in worship. More important than theology are religious character and clarity of mission & purpose; spiritual vitality. Successful congregations engage in recruitment activities, including: establishing and maintaining a website, the programmatic activity most related to growth; sponsoring programs to attract newcomers; and phone, card, email follow-ups to visit. Any conflict in the last 35 years and a congregation won’t grow. People are leaving churches for others with a sense of tradition, rootedness, even ritual.

From “A Modest Proposal”

1.            Unprogrammed-Programmed or Programmed-Unprogrammed?

            What we have is a winsome invitation to meet God.

            Listening for God sets us apart from other Christians.

            Prepare people to meet the Divine.

            Be more participatory in worship; each is responsible. (Encourage kids to participate.)

            Silence as the basis for worship

2.  Where do we sit?

            Does the seating welcome the presence of Christ?

            How does the building match the Ministry?

3.            End the pastorate.

4.            Thinking outside the church box

            Use social media and Web to tell our story

            Website: Have photos of people doing things

                        Make invitation prominent

                        Site should encourage visitors to interact (e.g., button to link to info about the meeting)

                        Use Facebook and other social media as primary source of communication.

                        Website should provide links to member blogs.

                        Get other sites to provide links to website

                        Get on Quaker.org/meetings

                        Center for Congregations--workshops on using social media

                        Make homepage for visitors.

                        Homepage photo(s) should change weekly.

                        Don’t make the hook for exploring the site Meeting for Worship but rather something practical,

e.g., page on child raising Quaker way.

            Teach “how to hear vocal ministry.”

 

Worship groups and other alternatives:

            Ohio Yearly Meeting and FGC have web pages on how to start worship groups.

            House church

            New Monasticism

            Don’t form such groups to attract people but rather to meet needs.

What do we have to offer others and how do we encourage people in their ministries? What does it mean to be a community of faith? To what are we faithful?

Positive change tools:

            Interviewing (to discover what circumstances/conditions/practices/ contribute to vital meetings)

            What attracted you to/keeps you among Friends?

            What has been your best moment among Friends?

            What 3 wishes do you have for Friends?

            World Café

            Asset mapping (transform thinking from deficit to abundance)

1.            physical assets

2.            people/individual assets

3.            associations

4.            institutions

5.            economic assets

Web resources:

            The Association of Religion Data Archives (http://www.thearda.com/)

            http://religioninsights.org/

Issues for Eastern Hills to address:

Do we believe Quakers have something unique and valuable to offer?

Do we care?

Do we want to share that?

What do you want from Meeting for Worship?

Do we have to have 1^st Day School? How can we keep children in Meeting for Worship?

What do we have to offer and how do we encourage others in their ministries?

Sign: Encounter God here Sunday 10PM

         This is not a church.           

Editor:  Rick Boyce, 231-9866, richardboyce@fuse.net, welcomes additions or suggestions for the newsletter.

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion