Monday, June 29, 2015

Visioning Workshop--Exploring Core Identity—Purpose and Values

These are the questions posed and the answers written down at the Visioning Workshop at Grace Church on Saturday, June 27, 2015.  About 25 people were present representing a broad spectrum of members and friends of Grace.  The workshop was facilitated by Michael Davis.   [Comments in brackets are the transcriber’s attempt to clarify.  The transcriber is Ken Lyon.]

1. What is the main purpose of the Grace Church Community?

  • Provide worship experience.
  • To lift people and bring love and healing.
  • Spread good news in many different ways to many different people.
  • We love God by loving His people.
  • To do as Jesus did.
  • Be an example of a diverse community.
  • To teach others how to show love.
  • To nudge people along the path to God.

2. What specific activities are most popular at Grace Church?

  • Community Dinners.
  • Worship/liturgy.
  • Monthly Healing Services (Wednesday and Sunday)
  • Rainbow Band
  • Tai Chi
  • Spirit Band
  • Partner Organizations
  • bread Ministry
  • Nave Space, generations of prayer [in that place]
  • Musicality
  • Gothic Church and flags [the combination speaks volumes]
  • Grace Notes (includes invites and complements)
  • IHN
  • Parolees
  • Prayer Shawl Ministry
  • Lay Eucharistic Visitors
  • Read aloud book club
  • Prayer & Meditation
  • EfM

2A. What values to these activities embody?

  • Traditional form and inclusive welcome.
  • Small group ministry
  • Appeal to traditional sense
  • Intentionally (passionately) inclusive.
  • Beyond inclusive to accepting.
  • Honoring those not like us deliberately.
  • Diversity.

3. What specific activities get the most volunteers?

  • Wednesday Healing
  • Outreach
    • Community Dinner
    • IHN
    • Parolees
  • Worship Services
  • Building work

3A. What values do these activities embody?

4. What are your personal top five values?

  • Life is about relationships with God through people.
  • Perseverance
  • Making a difference.
  • Integrity
  • being God’s presence
  • Serving community
  • Respectful and treating others with dignity
  • Living in a diverse community
  • Love (hands on)
  • Music
  • Working for justice
  • Power of faith and prayer
  • Improving the situation
  • Making things better
  • Education/communication
  • Having a purpose
  • Quiet meditation
  • Relieve suffering of others
  • Listening
  • Show God creatively
  • True to myself
  • Revering, respecting all God’s creatures
  • Tackling difficult issues head-on
  • Spiritual growth
  • Understanding and flexibility

5. What do you believe are the top five values of the Grace Church Community?

  • Serving community
  • Serving God
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Fiscal responsibility/financially viable
  • Numerical growth
  • Honoring all people as children of God (see Grace Church values)
  • God is a healer, we are His agents.

6. Where is there congruence (agreement) between your answers to questions 4 and 5.

  • Serving the community
  • Spiritual growth
  • Serving God
  • Honoring and welcoming all
  • Inviting and opportunity to contribute
  • Feeling welcomed
  • Appreciated
  • Pulling out from desire to be alone
  • Inviting
  • Healing
  • Be in relationship
  • Comfortable to take initiative
  • OUR church—ownership and investment

7. What are the top three, in order of the five values identified in question 5?

  • Serving God and Community.
  • Healing and Spiritual Growth
  • Honoring and Welcoming All.

8. Give three examples of how the church embodies or lives up to these top three values?

  • Good at welcoming and incorporating. (3)
  • Wednesday night community dinner (1,3)
  • Healing services (1,2,3)
  • Parolee program (1)
  • Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)  (1.2,3)
  • Sunday morning worship (1,2,3)
  • Prayer & Meditation group (2)
  • Partners Program

9. Are there any conflicts between the top five values of the congregation?

  • Lack of Sunday School and child care to learn about God.
  • Verbiage about all 5 of number 8, but little action.
  • A lot of action by a small group.
  • No choir.
  • Prideful ownership [can put off people with new ideas]
  • No directed educational or spiritual program or experiences.
  • Lack of money.
  • Lack of people.
  • [Lack of] clear point of leadership (e.g. clergy)
  • [Not] selling Grace [person-to-person].
  • Ragtag appearance.
  • [Lack of onsite] parking.

10. How are those conflicts (if any) resolved?

  • Engaging experts for short or long terms in areas where we have no experience.
  • Reposition ourselves.
  • Marketing/evangelism.