InterConnections: A Newsletter for Congregational Leaders
InterConnections is an email newsletter that publishes tips and stories about vital congregations for lay leaders and the professional staff who work with them.
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Best Ways for Congregations to Add Programs
When a congregation wants to add a new program, is there an established process to follow? Does it have to have a “champion” before it gets off the ground? How do you put the idea out there to see if people will support it? In short, how should a prospective program be evaluated?
InterConnections asked the Rev. Mark Stringer of the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, Iowa. First Unitarian has been part of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Leap of Faith program for the past two years and is a thriving, growing congregation.
“To begin with, we try to tap into existing energy,” says Stringer. “That way we’re not trying to make something out of nothing, and we’re being responsive to perceived needs. Read more.
New Suburban Congregation Tries Different Approach
Harmony Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church in Mason, Ohio, on the growing northeast side of Cincinnati, held its first worship service in the fall of 2009 with seven families in attendance. As of this fall it has around 150 adults and children on the rolls. Almost half that number are children aged 10 and under.
Because it has grown so quickly—it’s 30 minutes from the nearest other UU congregation—and because at this point it remains entirely lay-led, Harmony leaders are understandably hard-pressed to keep up with the demands of congregational life. So they’ve made a couple of adaptations to the ways that many other congregations “do church.” Read more.
Will Giving Up a Building Revitalize a Congregation?
What happens when a congregation gives up its building because it’s too much to maintain and then focuses its energy on programming and outreach? First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit is about to find out.
The 80-member congregation, located in Detroit’s central core, has labored for years to keep its three-building complex—the church building itself, a house, and a religious education building—all built between 1891 and 1917—going. It takes much of the congregation’s resources and time to keep things in repair. Read more.
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Do you have a story idea, comment, or question? Call InterConnections editor Don Skinner at (800) 204-2523 or send him an email: interconnections @ uua.org.
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Last updated on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.
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