Well, friends, how goes it? Are we far enough into the church year that you are feeling the volunteer strain? Are you wondering how to balance all you want to do in your congregation with the number of hands to do it? If you find yourselves asking, “who will do all this work?” we joyfully share a way one congregation recently re-centered in giftedness. 

In late September, the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Kennebunk, Maine hosted a “Shared Ministry Café” where over 30 people explored where their joys, skills, and curiosities intersected with the needs of the congregation, and the community beyond. The event’s format centered on the question of how they saw the sacred work of shared ministry unfolding, and built off our Centering in Gifts framework. The practice of Centering in Gifts invites discerning and calling forth individual gifts to build, heal, and support community.

This is one of the Practices of Spiritual Leadership your New England Region staff have shared a lot about in other blog posts (Gifts as Spiritual Center; Where Somebody Knows My Name; and But We Can’t Agree!). Taking up the practice of Centering in Gifts can be a fruitful way for a congregation to shift from the familiar scramble to fill volunteer slots to a process of shared discernment about the collaborative possibilities of sacred community.

Kennebunk Minister Rev. Tori Rosati preached in her sermon the morning of the Shared Ministry Café how nurturing ministries that emerge from the unique constellation of gifts within the community transforms the “work” of church into something sacred. It is no longer about dividing up responsibilities but rather creating spaces where the unique interdependence of gifts and needs can be reciprocated and, in so doing, they become ministry. Rev. Tori emphasized:

“When we participate in this work together, we are not just ‘volunteering’ or ‘signing up.’ We are bringing forward our gifts to restore community and create something new and sacred — in our own lives, the life of this community, and the world.”

After the service, participants in the Shared Ministry Café reflected in groups on each church ministry and how it enriched their shared spiritual life, invited personal meaning-making, and expressed the sacred work of community. This encouraged people to also identify their unique gifts and how, when freely shared, they might resonate with the wider ministry of the church. Event planner and First Parish Transition Team member, Lisa Slaughter remarked that “it was inspiring to see so many people participate, hear their perspectives, and share the responsibility of shaping the future of our community.”

We are delighted that the Centering in Gifts framework continues to inspire. How might Centering in Gifts change the habits of volunteerism in your congregation? 

Please continue sharing your testimonies of practicing Spiritual Leadership with your congregation’s primary contact so that we can spread the joy!