and Graceful, too. Today the Vashon congregation decided that they would figure out a way to offer something Unitarian Universalist to the Vashon community every Sunday, starting in September. I had said pretty firmly in my sermon that I felt they were not serving the community as well as they might, with the UU message, and I expected to hear all kinds of arguments about why they couldn't do it, during the after-service conversation we always hold after coffee hour. Instead, the proposal was made that they figure out what they would need to do in order to offer something every Sunday, they tossed it around for a little while figuring out who would be willing to work on a Forum-type offering on the other Sundays (they currently meet 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays), and voila! starting in September, they will offer worship on the regular Sundays and a Forum on the other Sundays.
I had suggested that they do plenty of planning, thinking, preparing the community, and it turned out my suggestion was way too conservative for them! I'm very pleased. Amazing...and Graceful.
4 comments:
It's not okay to use my blog to link to your own questionable campaigns, RE. I consider it spam and will eliminate your comments.
The Vashon congregations's response is what I hope to see in the nearby congregation I have mentioned in which the minister is leaving. That is, it becomes clear that problems have real and undesirable collateral effects, so people are activated to deal with them. Furthermore, with the departure of a minister, there is noone else standing between the congregation and the problem; it is an immediate and personal responsibility, which may galvanize the congregation to action. In the presence of a minister, people may act as if the minister had some magical ability to solve a major problem through personal magnetism, so that the congregation may postpone dealing with it and the problem may even worsen.
LinguistFriend
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