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Channing Memorial Church |
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Dear Channing Leaders,
1. Thank you to those who attended the meeting on Saturday, October 21st at which our Transition Team briefed you on the process we have developed for engaging the Congregation in a discussion leading to development of a vision statement for our Church that will answer the question, "What kind of Church do we want to be?" Those attending:
A. Validated the Board's goal that:
By June 2007, ChanningChurch has reached a consensus on a common vision for our ministry and our property that empowers the Congregation and its leadership to move in specific directions.
While there was some disagreement on how long this process should take, we came closer to consensus at the end. While I think there are a few who still think the process should move faster, my sense is that everyone can live with the June timeframe for achieving this goal.
B. Approved that a team consisting of Rev. Amy Freedman, Bill Peresta, Holly Grosvenor, Marsha Francis, Maryellen Doherty, and myself should take the lead in planning and facilitating this effort by the Congregation to develop a common vision. We are calling this team the Transition Team.
C. Validated the process we will use to facilitate this discussion. We received a lot of input on the process and have made some changes reflecting that input. From the inputs from the "breakout groups" at the meeting, we assessed that the key points regarding the process were:
(1) The meaning of words is very important. We need to refine and streamline our terminology that we are using so that what we are doing is clear to everyone.
(2) We need to include a process whereby we can educate all members of the Congregation on specifics of the issues that confront us, specifically the meaning and implications of growth and the scope and detail of our building deterioration.
(3) We need to include a self-assessment, perhaps in the form of a survey, both to generate enthusiasm and to better inform ourselves of where we are today.
2. I have attached a revision to the process that we briefed on Saturday. In it you will find that we addressed these three key issues.
3. In addition to inputs on the process, we received a number of inputs concerning the questions we should ask during focus discussions, how we should engage people and how we should provide feedback. You will see these suggestions acted on in the coming months as we continue through this process.
Our first Congregation-wide discussion, focusing on identifying our shared values and defining a vision for our shared ministry that reflects those values will be held on November 9th at 6:30 PM in the Parish Hall. A letter to all members and friends will be in the mail next week inviting all to the meeting and providing questions which we will be discussing at the meeting.
Please join us and encourage attendance among the Congregation.
Tom