1.) What do you think the church means?
God is our guide - that’s why we come to church to see what God has to say to us.
Bring out the best in people - as God would like us to be
- a church provides individual support in terms of walking their faith - not provided by friends.
I hope that I can talk to people about God
- -I think of it as a power center. should empower people’s lives and our community.
- it has to be a community. the climate drives everything. If you don’t have a good climate then none of those things happen. I find it very difficult to talk to people here.
Other church was a Chinese church - they see a need to bond together more because they all came from somewhere else. Westchester is lacking that. (Jack) In West.
Church is a place where lots of people find their community. We have to be much more intentional here.
- church is a way for me at least one day a week to put all of the other claims on my life aside. it’s a place to store up the energy of God to bring through the rest of my week.
2) What brought you to this congregation and what keeps you here?
- we moved up here and wanted a church closer to home. PCMK had a large Sunday school program and the people here were people our age, warmth and friendliness.
that got us started but there were other things that drew us into the life of the church.
with all the ups and down that we’ve been through here at the church it’s the people that kept us here. we noticed at another church that the minister was nudging people in our direction - not a good sign.
- the kids enthusiasm spoke to me - “oh the parents must be enthusiastic too.
- a church is not genetically “friendly.” Individual church members will either reach out or not on any given Sunday. We have to earn it each Sunday.
- I grew up in GA going to a Presb. church. when we moved here I wanted to find a Presbyterian church that is nothing like mine. Loved the mission statement. Had sense that the people own the church.
3) What are the important qualities of this church?
- I think the organ is great
- the Sunday school program is so well run. Music, bells, choir. It’s been important to me. It would be nice to see us doing more things together out in the community. More things like the Sunday in Gedney Park. I like that you’re incorporating different music.
- what is midnight run? explanation (perhaps that was not explained to these new members)
- let’s look for additional ways to do something like that here closer to home.
- need a newsletter that comes out monthly to let people know what’s going on.
- membership is working on something like that.
- - it would help to have a monthly calendar - maybe links for each event too
- the good thing here is that we have so much going on that it’s hard to keep track of.
- could send submissions from all the group leaders.
- weekly newsletter?
4) what would you like to find in this church if you were suddenly transported five years into the future?
- I’d like to see a series on discipleship. What does this mean? people here are so active but I’d like to see us getting back to understanding the foundation of our faith.
Bible studies, book studies. adult education. the church we went to a larger church that had opportunities
- visited a reformed church - had 5pm service - worked really well
- - we have to eat together.
- Latino service packed and eats together afterwards. this church is even more vibrant than the one we have now.
- a church with a lot more cohesiveness and robustness. We have to transcend
- what can we do to build loyalty to this church as a community? a family that sticks together no matter what - not an organization that exists to vend its services. J: Do you think it’s theology or discipleship an experience for community that brings out the best in us through experience? What do we need to do to get to that place? How can we get together to work through this problem?
- building friendships.
- I came back because of the strength of this core group. I feel an incredible sense of community.
- I would not want to be at a church where everyone thinks the same way.
- what empowers you? is the church providing something that keeps you going?
- People have a hard time with change.
- the pitfalls of idealizing any one person (pastor)
- I think in order to build this community
- try to get a family to Holmes together - will that be a possibility in 5 years?
- There’s no way I’m going to go and bare my soul in a big group without building up to that with small groups.
- ownership is a part of what’s missing to build a community. we all need to take ownership and not expect the church to just do the work for us.
- how do we get other people participating instead of having it always being the same people.
- could we have a group of people visiting some vibrant churches to see what’s going on?
- progressive dinners -more often? If we want to do another one we have to do something different
5) now that you’ve thought about our church’s purpose, what gifts would you see a new
pastor bringing to this place? what kinds of skills? experiences? spiritual traits?
-I’d like to see someone with an extroverted personality - someone who knows your name
-open-minded, willing to take risks. you have to be bold to do that. someone who’s willing to make mistakes
-should have good organizational skills, be the catalyst to get people to make things happen. once it gets going it will take on a life of its own dynamic
-someone who is bold but can help bring along people in the congregation who may not share the same view. someone to say, “you may not share this vision but I have a larger vision and there’s a way for you to fit in. being INCLUSIVE even while taking risks.
-connection with the youth.
-Jim Poinsett’s recommendation: get a Christian ed. staff person. someone paid who can be the organizer. it might be a possibility if the finances
-preaching, administrative coordination, staff management, fund-raising, group development, bible study, education, home visitation, counseling, conflict mediation. which one’s of these is most important for you?
-we need to reach out by phone to help remind people of dinners etc. taking time to reach out
-we need to talk about communication.
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