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Health and growth: An assessment tool for churches in transition

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Guest commentary by Nicole Farley In 2017 the Presbytery of Milwaukee received a grant, which made possible new ways of attending to church vitality within our congregations. One branch of this support has been to make Holy Cow! Consulting (an assessment tool for churches) affordable for any congregation in the presbytery. And one way that’s been done is to train leaders in the presbytery to serve as volunteer interpreters of the Congregation Assessment Tool (CAT) report. I was trained to be one of the presbytery’s team of Holy Cow! interpreters, and have since walked alongside six of the 18 churches who have engaged Holy Cow! so far to consider how they might make themselves more vital. Below are some reasons you might consider engaging in such an assessment, especially in a time of transition (but, really, any time is good to learn more about a congregation). One of the things I say in opening any interpretation is that knowing where you want to go, but not knowing where you … [Read more...]

Tagged With: transitional ministry

Transitional ministry and cultural proficiency

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Guest commentary by Jihyun Oh Transitional ministry can happen at any time. It can happen in a 10-year pastoral call when key members of the congregation move away or die. It can happen in a 22-year pastoral call when the neighborhood around a congregation begins to change. It should happen when the congregation finds itself older and less energetic and unable to support the vision and mission that the members discerned 30 or 40 years ago. It can happen when the congregation experiences a transition in pastoral leadership. I want to focus on this last instance of transitional ministry and how it relates to something else I’ve been pondering a lot lately: cultural competence or cultural proficiency. Cultural proficiency is one of the competencies that call seekers can select on Personal Information Forms to describe the gifts they offer as church leaders. It is listed among the Organizational Leadership qualities, and is described as the competence of having a “solid … [Read more...]

Tagged With: transitional ministry

The changing times of transitional ministry

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Guest commentary by Susan Krummel When I was first trained as an interim minister in the 1990s, there was a clear path for congregations and interim pastors. We were seen as the bridge between one stable time in the life of a congregation and the next stable time. Interim pastors were to provide all of the services of an installed pastor and to help a congregation think about its past and open itself up to new ways of doing things. A success as an interim pastor was being followed by an installed pastor who had a fruitful and long ministry at the church. Most churches were fairly steady in their membership (or growing a little) and the future would look much like the past with a few tweaks. My, how times have changed! Interim ministry training is now often called “the art of transitional ministry.” Pastors attend the educational week even if they are not thinking about being an interim because every congregation is going through transition of one kind or another. Some are … [Read more...]

Tagged With: transitional ministry

Forgiveness and reconciliation: A visit to Rwanda

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Guest commentary by Sarah Craven As we stood in the midst of a genocide memorial where over 50,000 people were buried and bones from the victims were displayed in room after room, I was reminded of Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. “Mortal, can these bones live?” Ezekiel’s response was “O Lord God, you know.” How do you come back from the violence and trauma that Rwanda experienced years ago? How do you forgive and reconcile neighbors and friends when you’ve faced the devastation of over a million people dying in about three months? Can you find hope and a future in the midst of such heartbreak? In the middle of Lent, I joined the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program on a travel seminar to Rwanda to study and learn more about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the forgiveness and reconciliation process in the 25 years since. Since serving as a Young Adult Volunteer in Belfast, Northern Ireland, I have been interested in how the church helps foster healing and reconciliation in … [Read more...]

Access Worship: Truly a place for all

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Guest commentary by Ben Keller We know that church hasn’t always been a safe and supportive place for those with special needs or limitations. The music can be too loud, the seating too confining, the sermons too long or not participatory enough — and honestly, people can sometimes be judgmental towards those with disabilities or their families.  You probably know what we’re talking about: the looks, the stares, the questions, the uninvited and uncomfortable parenting advice that people sometimes give. In April, First Presbyterian Church of Pueblo in Colorado launched Access Worship.  Access Worship is a unique, intergenerational, ecumenical new worshipping community for those with special needs and their families in Southern Colorado. We strive to include those of all abilities in providing both leadership and participation.  We are strongly attuned to the special needs of those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cognitive difficulties and mobility challenges. We meet monthly … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Welcome

On the Road

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Headed back home we were, after a day of strange reports and rumors. Some of the women had gone early to wash and wrap the body, but came running back claiming they had been met by angels, told that the Lord was still alive. Cleopas and I were skeptical, knowing all that loss and shock can do to people’s minds at times like these. Anyway as we walked along – only a permitted Sabbath journey – we were overtaken by a stranger who joined us on our way. “Why so sad?” he asked. So we told him of our grief and fear, all that had happened in the city. The stranger knew his Torah and led us to a whole new understanding of the master’s death. It was getting dark, so we invited our new friend to join us at a wayside inn. Then, at the table over supper, he took the loaf, tore it open in that certain way the Master had, and vanished. So here we are now, come racing back with fire in our hearts to tell you all that we have seen and heard. Jesus is not dead! We sat at table with the … [Read more...]

Tagged With: Easter

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