Let's focus on mission and programs as we develop our 2009 budget

Wow! It has been well over a month since I last wrote here, and sadly, even longer since I did much related to my responsibilities at church. It was truly a lost month, what with family illness and trips back to Minnesota, starting a massive new client project and catching a cold that moved on to bigger and better things and still won't give up residency in my lungs.

This has been a humbling experience, as I would not have guessed that much of anything could have derailed my focus on keeping commitments made to myself and First Trinity. Out of this journey into humility has come a new sense of appreciation for the people that form the First Trinity family.

• Many thanks to Greg Nelson for not only leading the program planning retreat but also opening his home and hosting it when the G-20 Summit security arrangements required us to abandon plans to hold it at the church. I so appreciate Greg's leadership on all matters financial and his reasoned and wise approach to the broader issues that confront us. I was here during the time we learned we needed to move, and so saw how quickly he and Jennifer offered their home.
• Thanks also to Ron Morgan, First Trinity's intrepid and experienced VP, for stepping in and providing all kinds of logistical support, leadership and documentation services for the retreat when I had to take off unexpectedly for Minnesota. I am so grateful that Ron agreed to move from past president to vice president to help me navigate through my first year.
• I also deeply appreciate those Council members who made it a priority to attend the retreat when my meeting communication was late in coming and the location was moved. I have asked the Council members to make even deeper commitments to their role this year, and it was good to see so many keeping theirs when I could not keep mine.
• Thank you also to our wonderful pastors who have been so conscientious about checking in with me, keeping my family on the prayer list and offering both their prayers and their concern. We are truly blessed by having two pastors with such strong pastoral care skills. From my experience this is not necessarily the norm, so I am even more appreciative.
• I was touched by the concern and well wishes expressed the two Sundays when I was able to be in church in the past six weeks. I have missed worshiping with and visiting with everyone - it was good to be back, and especially good to be so enveloped in care and concern. Thank you to all who have kept my family in their thoughts and prayers.

In my absence we began the program planning process. Greg has taken the information shared at the retreat and turned it into a draft budget for 2009. While budgeting is necessary, we really need to stay focused on mission and program rather than numbers. In Executive Committee today we talked about the dual role of council members, both as advocates for their own areas of responsibility and as stewards of First Trinity's overall mission, programs and finances. We also observed that stewardship has at least three components, monetary, time and talents, and we need to be equally focused on each.

However, this week's upcoming Council meeting will focus fairly exclusively on finances, though examined through the broader lenses of mission and program. I look forward to the discussion and the opportunity to hear from each Council member. We each come to the table with individual attitudes and values regarding money and we will need to listen closely to understand each other and seek consensus at least around our response to the challenges before us.

We know these are indeed challenging economic times for individuals and institutions. However, we have much for which to be thankful and so I hope we can enter our mission, program and budget discussions with a spirit of abundance. First Trinity has much to celebrate and many strengths with which to meet any challenges which might arise. It is my prayer and expectation that we will make wise and courageous decisions in the coming days and weeks leading up to the January Congregational meeting. At that time we will review the many ways we have grown in our capacity to, as our mission statement says, "celebrate and demonstrate our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ through inspirational worship, prayer and selfless, loving service to others."

Finding our common mission through true collaboration

This was a wonderful day for First Trinity, and I hope, for St. Matthew's. I was sorry to have missed our first Sunday together last week, and to have missed Pastor Huber's sermon, which was reported to be excellent.

I was exceptionally happy to be at church today for an incredible worship experience - a full house of warm and friendly people, absolutely glorious music, a super sermon and a fellowship time that would not end. The Holy Spirit was among us, the Gospel was proclaimed, and together we celebrated the Lord's Supper and honored the saints departed from both our congregations.

I visited with many members of St. Matthew's today and I found them to be open and friendly and very positive about joining us in this grand adventure of God's chosing. Our common goal is for each congregation to leave our relationship stronger than we each are today. But between now and then we are called to something more. God brought us together for a reason, and together St. Matthew's and First Trinity must prayerfully and faithfully seek to find it.

Whatever God's purpose for our partnership, the first step seems to me to be to fully integrate our congregations while maintaining and building our individual identities. I believe the way to do this is to go beyond the construct of guest or partner and seek to achieve God's purpose through collaboration.

My mentor, Arthur Himmelman, has defined collaboration as including the exchange of information, the altering of activities, sharing of resources, and enhancing the capacity of another for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose. This definition resonates with me because it focusses us on the notion of enhancing both First Trinity's and St. Matthew's capacity for our mutual benefit and as the route for achieving God's purpose.

Collaboration requires the sharing of risks, responsibilities, and rewards. One of the gurus of collaboration, Russ Linden, wrote “Collaboration is about co-labor, about joint effort and ownership. The end result is not mine or yours, it’s ours.” Actually we want the end result to be God's, but the point is we will not achieve God's purpose without collaboration, and by definition collaboration requires two partners, not a merger into a third entity.

All this is to say that members of St. Matthew's need to be integrated into all aspects of our joint worship, both in planning and participation, including as worship assistants, ushers, crucifers/acolytes, I also hope that St. Matthew's members will help with fellowship following service and contributing flowers.

However, we need to go beyond recruiting St. Matthew's for First Trinity-defined tasks and asking for participation in First Trinity's traditions. We must ensure that St. Matthew's traditions survive during our time together. This may take us out of our comfort levels, but then we can well imagine the people of St. Matthew's are already out of theirs.

Integrating St. Matthew's identity into all of our communication materials will be both a vehicle for furthering our parternership and be a symbol of our collaboration. We will need to rethink our communication tools so that they more fully represent and functionally integrate our two congregations.

Together, with God's help, we will find our way.

We have a Sunday School!

First Trinity started a new Sunday School program with the help of a cadre of volunteers. Sheila McCoy worked with Pastors Wendy and Tom to organize the program and recruit teachers and musicians as well as people willing to help in the nursery. Dan McCoy provided 'behind the scene' assistance and support. Sheila and Dan's leadership, the pastors' time and expertise and the volunteers' commitment turned this long-hoped for program into a reality with the first class on October 12.

Our small number of children gives us room to grow. We are using the same curriculum as St. Matthew’s and look forward to adding their children, youth and teachers to build a joint Christian education program that serves all of our young people.

I commend all the people who have worked to make Sunday School a reality at FT. I have very clear and fond memories of my Sunday School teachers and I hope that our young people will build similar relationships with people that they might not otherwise get to know. It is likely that most of my Sunday School teachers have no idea how important they were in my life, and I wish that I had told them.

A vibrant Sunday School both builds community within our congregations and offers visitors additional resources. The time that has gone into developing this program, and the efforts that will continue to build it are well spent. Thank you to those with the vision, energy and commitment to make it happen.

On our way rejoicing

I am very pleased that the proposal to partner with St. Matthew’s Lutheran for worship, education and programs was passed unanimously by the congregation today. Hopefully it was also approved by St.M's congregation and we can begin worshipping together next Sunday, October 26.

St. M’s president Dave Rhodes came over to talk to me before worship this morning. He wanted make sure that First Trinity really wanted this partnership with St.M’s before he met with his congregation. I assured him that I had not heard any negative reaction and that most people who talked to me about it indicated they saw this as an opportunity God put before us. I told him how hospitable and flexible that First Trinity was, and that I was sure that FT’s people would warmly welcome St.M’s.

We also talked about the need for good communication and the quick formation and meeting of the Partnership Committee, the group charged with coordinating the details of our joint ministries and addressing issues that arise.

Dave told me that St.M’s people have permanent nametags which they wear, which will help us identify and greet them and distinguish them from visitors. We will need to get – and wear -nametags. I suspect this will be helpful not just at the beginning, but on an on-going basis, since both congregations have members that for various reasons attend worship less regularly.

St.M’s attendance is now smaller than it had been. This will help us get to know them better sooner, but I hope it is our common goal to grow the attendance of both congregations and reach out to visitors.

Unfortunately neither Dave nor I will be able to attend church next Sunday, which we both regret. I look forward to hearing how things went, both good and bad. Good communication both within each congregation and between us is essential in living out God’s call to joint ministry. I am confident that with God’s blessings, open hearts, and good communication we will be proud of what we build together, and both congregations will be stronger for having journeyed together.

Partnership with St. Matthew Lutheran

Following worship October 19 the congregation will meet in the Fellowship Hall to consider a recommendation from the Church Council to invite St. Matthew's to join with us in partnership while their facility is being built.

We have been praying, talking, thinking and planning about this for the past six weeks. We have figured out some things, decided some things can be determined later, and probably have not anticipated many other potential issues. For now, this is what we know:

3 St. Matthew's has torn down their church at 222 M Street SW and plan to build a sanctuary, 200 apartments (15% affordable for middle income workers), a community center named after Thurgood Marshall and his wife, Cecilia, and a coffee shop called Sacred Grounds. They want to include a thrift shop, provide childcare and be a gathering place for Southwest. St. Matthews works with Arena Stage and is getting their assistance to make their new sanctuary performance ready.

3 St. Matthew's is seeking a congregation to worship with rather than worship out of temporary housing. They want to join us for worship rather than worshipping separately. They are interested in joining FT because we they believe we share a mission orientation.

3 St. Matthew's worships 35 to 60 per Sunday and loves to sing. They are a diverse congregation, with 50% African American membership, 15% East African, 10% Caribbean, and 25% Caucasian.

3 The vision is for integration of our congregations, with each maintaining their own identity. We would worship together and have the opportunity to participate in each other’s programs.

3 We will work together to jointly promote and offer Sunday School. St. Matthew's offers Sunday School to about 10 elementary and high school children and we have just started a pre-K-K Sunday School using the same curriculum series.

3 St. Matthew's has about 10 to 20 choir members, and have some people interested in bell choir. They have a choir director that Steve Brodd has talked to and believes they would work well together.

3 The plan is to have a joint worship committee and for Pastor Huber to share responsibility for preaching with Pastors Tom and Wendy preaching every third Sunday. St. Matthew’s might offer a Sing and Rejoice (contemporary styled) service as outreach, and FT would be welcome to participate. In addition they intend to hold regular events on their property to maintain a presence in their community.

3 St. Matthew's has very little need for space – they have few possessions left and they are mostly in storage. Their pastor does not anticipated needing an office, but understands we do not have one available but that he could talk to CFLS if they decide they need one.

3 St. Matthew's expects to pay for the additional costs FT will incur in the arrangement, though they are very limited financially. They currently have a bridge loan from Thrivent until their redevelopment payment arrives.

3 St. Matthew’s has asked to come to join us as guests, but we envision a partnership in worship, fellowship and programs. This is quite different from a merger, as it is important for both churches to keep their identities and own special brands. Our goal is that both churches leave the partnership stronger, with increased capacity to live out their mission in their own neighborhoods.

While this is what we know, there is much we do not know:

3 We have not determined how we will handle every detail of our lives together. We will work this out at the most appropriate level but will have a Partnership Committee consisting of the pastors and three representatives of each congregation. They will define how often they meet and how they will operate. Their goal is to see that communication happens and that issues are prevented, and if not, addressed and resolved. However, we know that the success or failure of this venture rests not with the Partnership Committee, but with the individual members of both congregations. Everyone has both a stake and a responsibility to be welcoming, and flexible, seek to work together and let their pastors; staff and lay leaders know when they are uncomfortable, or when they see problems that need to be addressed.

3 We cannot anticipate how it will feel to have a significantly larger worshipping congregation. We may find people sitting in the seats we prefer to occupy. We may have to work hard to both maintain relationships with our own members and get to know both St. Matthew’s members and our own new and prospective members. This is especially challenging for a congregation that does not necessarily have the same sort of mid-week encounters with members that I was used to in smaller communities in Minnesota. Here we need to make an intentional effort to connect, and that may be more difficult with more people. We all need to take responsibility for how we are feeling, and be willing to share our concerns.

3 We may find we need to use space differently. We will simply have to monitor that and adjust as needed.

3 We aren’t sure how long this arrangement is to continue. St. Matthew’s believes they can be in their building in three years, so that is what we have put in our proposed Memorandum of Understanding. However, given the economy and the fact they are just beginning to draw their plans, we may need to be flexible. Our MOU gives us the potential of ending the partnership early, or extending it.

There will surely be other anticipated and unanticipated challenges. However, this is an opportunity that I believe we must welcome. We will surely need to practice hospitality. But that is something at which FT excels. Just as communication is important with St. Matthews, it is important within or own FT family. With God's help we will find the balance between sharing worship and programs and maintaining our separate identities so that we will eventually separate, both stronger for our time together. I look forward to the discussion at the October 19 Congregational Assembly.

Celebrating Bobbi Sigworth and Deja New

The end of September marked the closing of Deja NEW Thrift Store, 7740 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda. Deja NEW has been managed by FT member Bobbi Sigworth who has brought her warm hospitality, creativity, humor, energy and unwavering commitment to Deja NEW. For Bobbi Deja NEW and the people it served was a ministry, a ministry of compassion, hospitality and connectedness.

Deja NEW started as a program of CFLS in 1994, providing training opportunities for program participants and income. Two years ago Deja NEW became a program of New Course Restaurant and Catering.

Deja New provided on the job training and helped the poor and homeless who graduated from the program achieve economic and social self-sufficiency. For the past 14 years FT and community members have relied on Deja NEW both as a place for great bargains, and as a place to contribute gently used clothing and household goods. I personally will miss Deja NEW for this reason!

Bobbi Sigworth has been FT's strong connection to Deja NEW, having served as manager for the past seven years. It is probably not a stretch to say she is the heart and soul of Deja NEW, decorating the walls of the house where Deja NEW is located, welcoming shoppers and contributors, coordinating volunteers and staff, and relentlessly spreading the story of Deja NEW.

First Trinity relies on many dedicated volunteers. Indeed, we continue to rely on Bobbi for her floral arrangement skills and dedication to beautifying our sanctuary. That being said, we cannot let the closing of Deja NEW and Bobbi's retirement from this venture go unnoticed. We should join together to celebrate both what Deja NEW and Bobbi have contributed to this community and how they have advanced the ministries of First Trinity. We thank God for Bobbi Sigworth and the work of Deja NEW.

Patience, perserverance and prayer are requested

One of my primary concerns has been how to be a good steward of First Trinity's human resources during this Year of the Full Plate. We started out with The Big 3 - stewardship, governance and redevelopment, as our challenges (and opportunities) for the year, knowing they would involve everyone and all our programs.

Then, before the first Council meeting, we added the proposal from St. Matthew's to join in our worship, programs and fellowship for the three years they are building their new church. Now we have The Big 3+1. This will require judicious use of the Council's and congregation's time and energy or we will end up wearied of meetings and unappreciative of the challenges and opportunities God has placed before us. FT has so many programs and ministries that it is easy to forget that we are a small congregation, and relatively few people are involved in a broad array of activities.

For this reason, the Executive Committee met yesterday and discussed how to sequence addressing each of these issues. While it would be ideal to spread them out and only deal with one at a time throughout the year, we determined that was not possible.

• Stewardship - Cindy Knotts has agreed to lead these efforts and to research resources for helping us develop an ongoing stewardship education process. A committee will be named this fall who will meet with someone from the ELCA to discuss options, and bring a proposal to the Council in December and then ultimately to the Congregation at its annual meeting in January. This timeline coincides with program and budget planning and prepares us for the start of the new fiscal year on February 1.


• Governance has been my shorthand for looking at how we can operationalize our recently adopted Mission and Values and ensure we have an infrastructure that can support them. This shorthand label is confusing and limiting, so we need to find something that conveys the broader intent. (Suggestions welcome!) We have discussed many ways of accomplishing this over the past many months, and have now come up with what we believe is an efficient and hopefully effective approach. We want this process to tie into the program and budget planning process which begins November 15, so we need to start that right away also.


• Redevelopment is on-going. We cannot reliably predict when we will have something to report or that the committee will have proposal to recommend. We have input from the congregation on implications of potential redevelopment on current and future programs and what we should think about regarding a transistion should we move forward. This provides a foundation for the Redevelopment Committee and Council. Therefore we will need to fit in redevelopment issues as they arise.


• St. Matthew's needs a place to worship this fall, so we cannot delay this either.
  

All this means that we cannot avoid a very busy fall, especially when adding in the start-up of Sunday School October 12, our relatively new responsibilities for the Food Pantry, all our on-going responsibilities and the upcoming program and budgeting planning cycle. In reality we need to do as much as possible between now and the first week or so in Deccember, since after that we will be busy with Advent and Christmas activities.

Thus, I ask everyone's patience, perserverance and prayer as we move forward on so many fronts in the coming (two) months. There are various ways we can approach our various challenges and opportunities in the coming months. One of them is described in a most interesting article on planning for church leaders that Pastor Tom sent me. I commend it to you: http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=6472. I would like to discuss this article and its implications for FT in an upcoming blog.

First up

First Trinity certainly has a lot on its collective plate right now, so I thought it would be good to start a blog to share information and perspectives, build community and together work on determining how to respond to the opportunities and resources God has given us. Thus, most of the time posts will focus on the challenges and opportunities faced by FT, but sometimes posts will discuss our broader relationships to the ELCA and our DC Metro community. I find constant inspiration and challenge in reading The Lutheran, and so some posts will attempt to initiate a discussion of issues raised there.

Since we only joined FT two years ago I know I have a lot to learn about the congregation and its ministries. I welcome - and look for - feedback and opinions and opportunities to learn from what will surely be mistakes.

While Council elections are in June, the first meeting of the year was in early September. I have a vision for church councils that is different from those of a non-profit board of directors. For one thing we don't have enough staff to come together once a month, provide oversight and not worry about anything until the next meeting. Members of the congregation have taken on large areas of responsibilities for FT programs and ministries, and the Council must provide active servant leadership to our congregation. Therefore I have asked the members of the Council to look at their role perhaps somewhat differently than in the past. We will be discussing this at the October Council meeting and I will share more about this as the meeting gets closer.

Prior to the first Council meeting the Executive Council, Pastors Tom and Wendy, Vice President Ron Morgan, Minister of Financial Resources Greg Nelson and I, had identified three issues that will involve every ministry of FT in the coming year:

• Stewardship: We all need to be good stewards of all of our resources and all of our opportunities, and this means we need to focus on involving more people willing to share their time and talents. We need to develop ways of talking about and encouraging people to think more deeply about stewardship.
• Governance: In April the Council approved asking the Mission and Values Work Group to look at our existing ministries and those suggested during the development of our mission and values, as well as the way we are currently organized, and to come up with recommendations about how we might be organized to best support and reflect our new mission and values. We will begin this fall. The process will involve talking to Council members about their ministries, the way they operate, the human resources they have and need, and how they might relate and respond to those priorities suggested during the development of our mission and values.
• Redevelopment: Throughout this year we will to look not just at the opportunities and challenges posed by potential redevelopment, but at the transitional needs of the congregation if we were to move forward.

Future posts will focus on each of these issues in detail, as they each in turn become the focus of our attention.

Just prior to the first Council meeting we received a request from St. Matthew Lutheran Church (ELCA) to consider asking them to join with us in our worship and programs while they redevelop their property in Southwest. There has been much positive reaction to this idea and we are now working out the details. An upcoming post will discuss this opportunity in more detail.