Young congregations are struggling across this country as their physical plant’s construction debt, created when the economy was booming, is suddenly becoming a major drag on their ability to provide the programs that were fueling their growth.
Here is a collection of some of the good things that Episcopalians and their congregations that have made the news in their communities this past week.
Looking for “burning bush” moments in daily life is an idea for the Lenten spiritual practice of Cathleen Falsani, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times. Her
Conflict is normal in every congregation. Some disagreement and conflict provides energy and generates ideas but it is like Goldilock’s porridge: organizations thrive when conflict is not too hot and not too cold but just right.
“Fifty years ago, everybody used to go to church,” Mr. de Leeuw, the rector, said, smiling at about 50 people gathered in his 22 remaining pews last Sunday. “The sense of obligation people had is gone, but maybe that’s a good thing. Those of us who gather here are here because we want to be.”
In rough economic times, congregations look for ways to meet the costs of upkeep, programs and ministries. If these are directed towards the wider community,
If you’ve ever remodeled a house while attempting to live in it, you have a sense of the chaos and complexity of congregational renewal. It will take far longer, cost you more, and prove messier than you ever imagined at the start. The difficulty lies in the work itself. Pogo’s line holds true here: “We have met the enemy and he is us.
For people who believe that they are created in the image of God and follow the Logos, we can be very naive about our communications. Lynne Baab says that for our communications–both among ourselves and to those outside our churches–to be effective, we have to look at the whole picture and then, from time to time, evaluate what that picture is really saying.
The Alban Institute’s topic of the week is planning in the congregational setting. Gill Rendle and Alice Mann write: Planning can be challenging in the
What makes a congregation vital? Is it a common faith? Or a common cause? Does the emotional intensity of the worship or the fervency of the preaching make for a vital congregation? It may be all or none of these because a vital congregation is a community of intentional practice,