A group of us have been enjoying a regular "conversation" about the experience of Worship and what it means, in part guided by an excellent new book by two UU ministers called Worship That Works. Here are some key concepts worthy of even more discussion.
Four Dynamic Forces that influence worship “norms”
What is the “Founding Culture?”
What are the Worship Traditions?
What is the Musical Baseline?
What is the Physical Space?
These four factors combine to create the "personality" of a particular congregation. They may change and evolve over time, but are ignored at one's peril. Meanwhile, one important purpose of worship is to change people's lives for the better: to instruct them, inspire them, and to send them out again into the world renewed, rejuvinated, and ready to face the world for another week. According to the authors,
Transformative Worship…
· invites the congregation into holy time and creates sacred space from the very beginning of the service
· includes an affirmation of the congregation’s central mission, values, and promises
· uses powerful symbols that are familiar to the congregations and are rooted in the community’s history and tradition
· is culturally sensitive, honoring and interpreting the context and setting of ritual elements and service content drawn from the world’s diverse cultures
· finds ways to invite and include people at all ages and stages of life
· skillfully uses the arts, particularly music, to express the ineffable in ways that are culturally accessible to the congregation
· recognizes inclusive singing as a way of opening the heart to the presence of the holy and to the mission, vision, and values of the congregation
· uses any announcements as a reminder of the mission, vision, and values of the congregation, and as a bridge from the service to personal actions and commitments
· invites and creates congregations of generosity and abundance
· finds ways to recognize individual lives within the body of the community, holding the personal and the collective in dynamic tension
· includes silence and words that remind us of our dependency on the mystery of life and each other
· honors traditional and contemporary sources for the congregation’s faith journey and helps place this journey in time, through the framework of the liturgical year
· can happen without a sermon, but the power of the word through excellent preaching is the key that unlocks the possibility of transformation in most of our congregations
· sends people out into the world with a personal sense of mission, with their highest values reinforced.
From Worship That Works: Theory and Practice for Unitarian Universalists, by Wayne Arnason and Kathleen Rolenz (Boston: Skinner House, 2008)
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
NOVEMBER MINISTER’S REPORT
After last month’s Governing Board meeting, more than one of you mentioned to me that I seemed to be handing out an awful lot of “homework,” and reminded me in effect that all of you are volunteers with “day jobs,” who are generously doing the important work of the church in your spare time.
Fair enough. So to put it all in context, most of the things that I will be distributing to you from time to time are mostly for your information and feedback, and perhaps to stimulate your imaginations. The “homework” is all optional and voluntary, and in effect is to help me better learn about First Parish. Notwithstanding all of the routine work that has to be done around here just to keep things going from day to day, this is still very much a “learning year” for all of us. You are learning about me, I’m learning about you, and hopefully together we are both learning a little more about First Parish: what we do well, what we hope to do better, where we want to go together, and what resides at the “soul” of our shared spiritual life as a covenanted community of faith.
And this is why, in addition to the three priority areas of Membership, Stewardship, and Outreach, I asked all of you to think about creating simple, transparent, easily teachable and consistently repeatable Standard Operation Procedures for each of your respective areas of concern, and also to try to carve out some time for yourselves to learn more about the “big picture.” Because both of these things are going to be very important to us in the years ahead, and will make all our work easier in the long run.
To borrow a sporting metaphor, this first year of my ministry here might basically be thought of as a “rebuilding” year. We have a new coach and new players to integrate into our team, we are working together to learn and implement an entirely new “game plan,” and we have many long hours of training and practice ahead of us before we achieve our full potential. We’ll still play a full schedule this season, and hopefully win a lot more than we lose. But winning a championship doesn’t happen overnight. We need to commit ourselves to creating that “culture of success” over a long haul if we truly wish to achieve everything I believe we are capable of achieving.
And on that note, here are some quick updates:
• Accessible Bathrooms. My understanding is that our accessibility architect has already drawn up plans to remodel the parlor bathroom on the main floor, and is in the process of creating similar plans for the two bathrooms off of the multi-purpose room on the ground floor. These two bathrooms will probably NOT be fully ADA handicapped accessible (something about lack of space for an adequate wheelchair turning radius), but they will be more accessible than they are at present, and also still accommodate some of the other uses we’ve talked about in terms of pageant dressing areas, and a dedicated custodial mop sink. The Women’s Alliance has also been working on plans to refurbish the parlor kitchen (and move the Sexton out of that space entirely). Between what the Alliance has to contribute, our anticipated insurance settlement from the water damage, and a possible “bridge” loan from the Trustees, I’m hoping that all of these projects will be completed by this spring prior to my Installation service (as well as the slate roof, belltower, and plaster ceiling repairs in the Meetinghouse proper, all of which are on the Trustees’ menu). We will still need to address the fundraising issue to make up the balance of the cost of the bathroom remodel, whatever that turns out to be. The number which people have been kicking around is about $5000, but we won’t really know the exact figure until the work itself goes out to bid.
• Membership Growth. As of Monday afternoon, I have mailed out a total of 55 visitors welcome letters since the start of our regular services in September. This is truly excellent traffic! (In comparison, I don’t think I mailed this many letters total the entire four years I served in Carlisle). Next steps on the Path to Membership are a newcomers brunch/reception after church on December 2nd, and the beginning of our “Explorer” series/New UU classes in January. The traditional Sunday for formally receiving new members into fellowship is Palm Sunday, which this year falls on March 16th. Our “benchmark” goal is that 20% (or more) of this year’s first time visitors will choose to affiliate formally with First Parish by signing the book on or prior to that Sunday.
• Stewardship Campaign. Stephanie will doubtlessly want to deliver her own, more detailed report on this as the campaign itself wraps up, but from where I sit the indications are that this has been very successful, both in terms of improved process and also early results. The next three steps in this area (as I see them) are a) to consolidate the learning and success of this years campaign, so that they can continue in subsequent years; b) to begin to pull together our “special events & fun(d)raising” team as we talked about at the Planning Retreat, and c) to work more closely with the Trustees around issues of bequests and planned giving.
• Community Outreach. Here’s a handout of some of the things I think we ought to be thinking about in terms of improved promotion and public relations. Again, feedback invited but not required.
• DRE Search. As of this morning, there were nine resumes in my file. My understanding of the process is that the DRE Search Committee will do the initial screening, and that I will also interview the “finalists” – and that hopefully we will be able to come to a consensus decision. The goal is to have someone on board by January.
• Worship. Attendance seems to be solid and energy high, although it’s difficult for me to know how to compare what is happening now with previous years. I’ve been involved in a very interesting on-going conversation about worship on alternating Wednesday evenings, based on the book Worship that Works, and some of the insights from those meetings will no doubt make their way through the Worship Committee and into our worship service, but no really major changes to our current Order of Service are contemplated before next fall. In the meantime, we will continue to “experiment” from time to time with alternative worship practices, although always within the over-arching structure of our current tradition.
• Small Group Ministry. This is another area here at First Parish where I’m still learning the ropes, but which I hope will become a significant component in our overall program mix. I like to think of “Covenant Groups” (sometimes also known as “Chalice Circles”) as simply one component of a more expansive SGM program, which should also include “Affinity” groups (like Connections and the Soulful Parenting Group) and more traditional Adult Religious Growth and Learning offerings. I’ve met with several of these groups already, and hope to begin revitalizing this program again after the first of the year as well
• Lay Chaplaincy/Pastoral Care Ring. Sally Madore has asked to step down from her position as lead lay chaplain, although she has agreed (at my request) to remain on our letterhead, and to fulfill some of those functions on an on-going basis as needed. In the meantime, I don’t see any need for us to limit ourselves to just one lay chaplain, and would kind of like to expand this program a little, in connection with improving our overall system of recruiting and training “Care-Ring” volunteers. The sad truth is that if we are successful in achieving our membership growth goals, there is simply no way that I personally am going to be able to provide the level of personal pastoral care I was accustomed to when serving smaller congregations. So we need to start putting together a program to take over much of that responsibility, so that our members who need and desire pastoral care will not be left to do without.
Fair enough. So to put it all in context, most of the things that I will be distributing to you from time to time are mostly for your information and feedback, and perhaps to stimulate your imaginations. The “homework” is all optional and voluntary, and in effect is to help me better learn about First Parish. Notwithstanding all of the routine work that has to be done around here just to keep things going from day to day, this is still very much a “learning year” for all of us. You are learning about me, I’m learning about you, and hopefully together we are both learning a little more about First Parish: what we do well, what we hope to do better, where we want to go together, and what resides at the “soul” of our shared spiritual life as a covenanted community of faith.
And this is why, in addition to the three priority areas of Membership, Stewardship, and Outreach, I asked all of you to think about creating simple, transparent, easily teachable and consistently repeatable Standard Operation Procedures for each of your respective areas of concern, and also to try to carve out some time for yourselves to learn more about the “big picture.” Because both of these things are going to be very important to us in the years ahead, and will make all our work easier in the long run.
To borrow a sporting metaphor, this first year of my ministry here might basically be thought of as a “rebuilding” year. We have a new coach and new players to integrate into our team, we are working together to learn and implement an entirely new “game plan,” and we have many long hours of training and practice ahead of us before we achieve our full potential. We’ll still play a full schedule this season, and hopefully win a lot more than we lose. But winning a championship doesn’t happen overnight. We need to commit ourselves to creating that “culture of success” over a long haul if we truly wish to achieve everything I believe we are capable of achieving.
And on that note, here are some quick updates:
• Accessible Bathrooms. My understanding is that our accessibility architect has already drawn up plans to remodel the parlor bathroom on the main floor, and is in the process of creating similar plans for the two bathrooms off of the multi-purpose room on the ground floor. These two bathrooms will probably NOT be fully ADA handicapped accessible (something about lack of space for an adequate wheelchair turning radius), but they will be more accessible than they are at present, and also still accommodate some of the other uses we’ve talked about in terms of pageant dressing areas, and a dedicated custodial mop sink. The Women’s Alliance has also been working on plans to refurbish the parlor kitchen (and move the Sexton out of that space entirely). Between what the Alliance has to contribute, our anticipated insurance settlement from the water damage, and a possible “bridge” loan from the Trustees, I’m hoping that all of these projects will be completed by this spring prior to my Installation service (as well as the slate roof, belltower, and plaster ceiling repairs in the Meetinghouse proper, all of which are on the Trustees’ menu). We will still need to address the fundraising issue to make up the balance of the cost of the bathroom remodel, whatever that turns out to be. The number which people have been kicking around is about $5000, but we won’t really know the exact figure until the work itself goes out to bid.
• Membership Growth. As of Monday afternoon, I have mailed out a total of 55 visitors welcome letters since the start of our regular services in September. This is truly excellent traffic! (In comparison, I don’t think I mailed this many letters total the entire four years I served in Carlisle). Next steps on the Path to Membership are a newcomers brunch/reception after church on December 2nd, and the beginning of our “Explorer” series/New UU classes in January. The traditional Sunday for formally receiving new members into fellowship is Palm Sunday, which this year falls on March 16th. Our “benchmark” goal is that 20% (or more) of this year’s first time visitors will choose to affiliate formally with First Parish by signing the book on or prior to that Sunday.
• Stewardship Campaign. Stephanie will doubtlessly want to deliver her own, more detailed report on this as the campaign itself wraps up, but from where I sit the indications are that this has been very successful, both in terms of improved process and also early results. The next three steps in this area (as I see them) are a) to consolidate the learning and success of this years campaign, so that they can continue in subsequent years; b) to begin to pull together our “special events & fun(d)raising” team as we talked about at the Planning Retreat, and c) to work more closely with the Trustees around issues of bequests and planned giving.
• Community Outreach. Here’s a handout of some of the things I think we ought to be thinking about in terms of improved promotion and public relations. Again, feedback invited but not required.
• DRE Search. As of this morning, there were nine resumes in my file. My understanding of the process is that the DRE Search Committee will do the initial screening, and that I will also interview the “finalists” – and that hopefully we will be able to come to a consensus decision. The goal is to have someone on board by January.
• Worship. Attendance seems to be solid and energy high, although it’s difficult for me to know how to compare what is happening now with previous years. I’ve been involved in a very interesting on-going conversation about worship on alternating Wednesday evenings, based on the book Worship that Works, and some of the insights from those meetings will no doubt make their way through the Worship Committee and into our worship service, but no really major changes to our current Order of Service are contemplated before next fall. In the meantime, we will continue to “experiment” from time to time with alternative worship practices, although always within the over-arching structure of our current tradition.
• Small Group Ministry. This is another area here at First Parish where I’m still learning the ropes, but which I hope will become a significant component in our overall program mix. I like to think of “Covenant Groups” (sometimes also known as “Chalice Circles”) as simply one component of a more expansive SGM program, which should also include “Affinity” groups (like Connections and the Soulful Parenting Group) and more traditional Adult Religious Growth and Learning offerings. I’ve met with several of these groups already, and hope to begin revitalizing this program again after the first of the year as well
• Lay Chaplaincy/Pastoral Care Ring. Sally Madore has asked to step down from her position as lead lay chaplain, although she has agreed (at my request) to remain on our letterhead, and to fulfill some of those functions on an on-going basis as needed. In the meantime, I don’t see any need for us to limit ourselves to just one lay chaplain, and would kind of like to expand this program a little, in connection with improving our overall system of recruiting and training “Care-Ring” volunteers. The sad truth is that if we are successful in achieving our membership growth goals, there is simply no way that I personally am going to be able to provide the level of personal pastoral care I was accustomed to when serving smaller congregations. So we need to start putting together a program to take over much of that responsibility, so that our members who need and desire pastoral care will not be left to do without.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
THINKING ABOUT OUTREACH
A lot of people have been expressing to me a desire to see First Parish do something more effective in the way of advertising, in order to attract more people to our congregation. But in my experience, effectively advertising a church can be a tricky business, where if you don’t know what you’re doing it is easy to spend an awful lot of money without much positive result (and in some cases, even a negative one). So here are some of my reflections on the subject, as we start to think about moving forward in this area.
• The notion that we can simply purchase more and better advertising and that more (and better) people will begin attending church on Sunday mornings as a result is deceptively naïve. We need to be very specific, targeted, focused and intentional about what we hope to accomplish in “marketing” First Parish, and how best to go about achieving those objectives in an effective and economical way.
• One specific starting place might be to examine more closely what we are already doing in the way of “static” advertising (our exterior and interior signage, our pamphlets and literature, our Yellow Pages ads, our Saturday newspaper ad, and especially our newsletter and website), in order to determine whether or not we are portraying a consistent identity (or “brand”), and how we might better use these tools to reinforce the identity we would like to portray.
• Likewise, rather than presuming that the purpose of a Public Relations campaign is simply to attract more newcomers through the front doors (who may or may not return and eventually join First Parish), we might frame our objectives in both a broader and a more nuanced manner, by asking:
what might we specifically do to improve the image, reinforce the identity, and raise the visibility of First Parish in the larger community? [i.e. to increase our “brand recognition”]
what can we do to promote specific events of interest to the larger community other than Sunday Services that are taking place here at First Parish? [i.e. to create and promote alternative entry points]
what can we do to inspire our current members to become more deeply involved at First Parish, and to encourage them to invite their friends?
Finally, I just want to make it clear that advertising alone is not going to grow the church all by itself. It’s just not enough merely to get people through the front door; we also need to welcome them warmly, anticipate their needs and desires, and effectively satisfy those expectations so that they will return and bring their friends. If we FAIL to do these things, we are probably better off NOT advertising, since newcomers who are disappointed by their experience here will probably tell their friends as well….
• The notion that we can simply purchase more and better advertising and that more (and better) people will begin attending church on Sunday mornings as a result is deceptively naïve. We need to be very specific, targeted, focused and intentional about what we hope to accomplish in “marketing” First Parish, and how best to go about achieving those objectives in an effective and economical way.
• One specific starting place might be to examine more closely what we are already doing in the way of “static” advertising (our exterior and interior signage, our pamphlets and literature, our Yellow Pages ads, our Saturday newspaper ad, and especially our newsletter and website), in order to determine whether or not we are portraying a consistent identity (or “brand”), and how we might better use these tools to reinforce the identity we would like to portray.
• Likewise, rather than presuming that the purpose of a Public Relations campaign is simply to attract more newcomers through the front doors (who may or may not return and eventually join First Parish), we might frame our objectives in both a broader and a more nuanced manner, by asking:
what might we specifically do to improve the image, reinforce the identity, and raise the visibility of First Parish in the larger community? [i.e. to increase our “brand recognition”]
what can we do to promote specific events of interest to the larger community other than Sunday Services that are taking place here at First Parish? [i.e. to create and promote alternative entry points]
what can we do to inspire our current members to become more deeply involved at First Parish, and to encourage them to invite their friends?
Finally, I just want to make it clear that advertising alone is not going to grow the church all by itself. It’s just not enough merely to get people through the front door; we also need to welcome them warmly, anticipate their needs and desires, and effectively satisfy those expectations so that they will return and bring their friends. If we FAIL to do these things, we are probably better off NOT advertising, since newcomers who are disappointed by their experience here will probably tell their friends as well….
Thursday, November 1, 2007
THE ECLECTIC CLERIC - “…at the speed of Church”
Autumn is my favorite time of year in New England. OK, technically, it’s Indian Summer (which is really just Autumn at its best). The crisp, brisk air. The colorful autumn leaves. Traditional college football rivalries and (of course) Thanksgiving Day. I’ve often expressed my opinion that if the Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth Rock at any other time of year, the inhabitants of this little corner of the world would all still be speaking Algonquin. Autumn is the season that makes up for the bitterly cold winters, the soggy (and muddy) springs, and the oppressively humid summers (which I’ve been told never happen in Maine). It’s the season that makes New England what it is.
The heart of Autumn also marks a slight lull in the rhythm of the church program year: a quick pause to catch our breath and take a look around between the scramble to get everything started up again after Labor Day, and the hectic bustle of Advent and the holidays. And then, in January, another little breather before marching forth into Lent and Easter, and finally coasting along past Earth Day and Mother’s Day and Memorial Day to the end of spring, and the beginning of our informal summer services. And then, after Labor Day, the whole thing begins all over again. World Without End.
The leisurely pace of the life of the church can often become frustrating for those who wish that churches could be more “businesslike,” and deal with issues in a far more efficient and timely fashion than they generally do. And there have certainly been many times in my long career as a minister when I have shared that frustration.
But over the years I’ve also grown to realize that life in the business world is typically driven by people who work 40+ hours a week simply to earn their livelihoods, while in comparison churches are notoriously “understaffed,” (even by the standards of most other non-profits), and tend to depend on the generous work of part-time volunteers in order to get things done.
There’s a big difference between being part of an organization where everyone is expected to show up 5 days a week/50 weeks a year, and one where we are doing well if half the people show up once or twice a week for more than a couple of hours at a time. It’s simply not fair to judge the performance of the latter by the standards of the former. It’s like comparing Pumpkins and Cranberries. One grows in a patch and the other in a bog, but both have a place at the table.
On the other hand, (at least compared to most businesses) churches really are in it for the long haul, and can afford to take a larger view in order to see the bigger picture. First Parish, for example, has been serving this community since 1674, and (God willing) will continue to be a vital presence in the heart of the city of Portland for another three centuries and longer. When you think in those terms, there’s always going to be plenty more that needs to be done around a church; and even though ministers supposedly work 24/7, no minister can ever hope to do it all alone. In fact, without the support and active assistance of all of you, I doubt I’d be able to get much of anything done at all.
Scripture also tells us that “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.” The most essential thing is that we learn to walk together in the right direction, moving quickly enough that no one gets too far out in front of the rest of the group, but not so quickly that others are left to lag behind. Some forge ahead and blaze the trail, some lend a helping hand to stragglers and bring up the rear, and all are responsible for assisting and encouraging and supporting one another, in every season of our lives. So that with every step we take toward our destination, there will be even more of us to share the journey than when we started out…….twj
The heart of Autumn also marks a slight lull in the rhythm of the church program year: a quick pause to catch our breath and take a look around between the scramble to get everything started up again after Labor Day, and the hectic bustle of Advent and the holidays. And then, in January, another little breather before marching forth into Lent and Easter, and finally coasting along past Earth Day and Mother’s Day and Memorial Day to the end of spring, and the beginning of our informal summer services. And then, after Labor Day, the whole thing begins all over again. World Without End.
The leisurely pace of the life of the church can often become frustrating for those who wish that churches could be more “businesslike,” and deal with issues in a far more efficient and timely fashion than they generally do. And there have certainly been many times in my long career as a minister when I have shared that frustration.
But over the years I’ve also grown to realize that life in the business world is typically driven by people who work 40+ hours a week simply to earn their livelihoods, while in comparison churches are notoriously “understaffed,” (even by the standards of most other non-profits), and tend to depend on the generous work of part-time volunteers in order to get things done.
There’s a big difference between being part of an organization where everyone is expected to show up 5 days a week/50 weeks a year, and one where we are doing well if half the people show up once or twice a week for more than a couple of hours at a time. It’s simply not fair to judge the performance of the latter by the standards of the former. It’s like comparing Pumpkins and Cranberries. One grows in a patch and the other in a bog, but both have a place at the table.
On the other hand, (at least compared to most businesses) churches really are in it for the long haul, and can afford to take a larger view in order to see the bigger picture. First Parish, for example, has been serving this community since 1674, and (God willing) will continue to be a vital presence in the heart of the city of Portland for another three centuries and longer. When you think in those terms, there’s always going to be plenty more that needs to be done around a church; and even though ministers supposedly work 24/7, no minister can ever hope to do it all alone. In fact, without the support and active assistance of all of you, I doubt I’d be able to get much of anything done at all.
Scripture also tells us that “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.” The most essential thing is that we learn to walk together in the right direction, moving quickly enough that no one gets too far out in front of the rest of the group, but not so quickly that others are left to lag behind. Some forge ahead and blaze the trail, some lend a helping hand to stragglers and bring up the rear, and all are responsible for assisting and encouraging and supporting one another, in every season of our lives. So that with every step we take toward our destination, there will be even more of us to share the journey than when we started out…….twj
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