Partners in Ministry

What to keep, what to let go of, what to take up?

2009-09-20T16:04:00.007-04:00

It is fall and things are definitely up and running at First Trinity! Sunday School, Church Council, Partnership Committee and my blogging are all back after a summer hiatus and Wise Women meets October 4.

The Council participated in a planning retreat yesterday and began the process of aligning this years programs and activities with our three priorities:

Integrate stewardship into all aspects of congregational life.
Plan for potential redevelopment of our facilities and our strategies for ministry.
Develop and implement a strategic outreach plan.

One of our challenges is that we have more ideas and more needs than we have energy, staff and time. The Council will have to make some difficult choices in the coming weeks and months.

Pastor Wendy's sermon today gives us a way to look at the task before us. She spoke about how Jesus called his disciples to let go of those things they considered important as he pointed them toward ministry to those most in need. Pastor Wendy explained that our arms can be so full of things we have picked up and have hung on to that there is no room left for that to which we are called.

First Trinity has a rich history which has led us to the exciting possibilities and opportunities that lie before us. We look at the next three years and realize there is much to which we seem to be called, as well as challenges we will need to carefully consider and manage.

Collectively and individually we already have a lot on our plate, or in our arms. Over the coming months we need to look carefully at our current and planned activities, programs and ministries. We do this so that we can be the Church and the people that we discern God calling us to be. We cannot do it all. We need to be disciplined and wise stewards of all of our resources. We need everyone's prayers and best thinking in order to decide what we keep and what we let go of and what we then take on. We ask God's guidance and blessing as we embark upon this task.

Through the eyes of strangers

2009-05-03T17:30:00.007-04:00

We just got back from yet another weekend out of town. That means that of the last three weekends I have been to church once. I really dislike being away from church so often. For the most part Sundays are the only opportunity to see people and catch up. This is why the sanctuary is always buzzing before worship, why the passing of the peace takes longer than in churches where people work, live, shop and play together throughout the week, and why the after worship receptions are so popular and animated.

We have a lot of church 'business' to do Sunday mornings! While some official business is done, most of the time it is the business of strengthening the fabric of our First Trinity-St. Matthew's community and knitting in the new strands of visitors and friends. It is a joyous time when family that grew up in the church return and we newer people get to meet the adult children and grandchildren about whom we so often hear. It is also great fun to meet the visiting friends of members, as well as those who come without knowing anyone. Last Sunday I got to meet a seminarian from Philadelphia (who knows Taryn Montgomery) and his wife. They were visiting First Trinity 'on assignment' to experience other churches and seemed very appreciative of what they found.

It is good to try to see our community and worship through the eyes of others, non-members and those who have not worshipped here or anywhere else in some time. We all need to do that on a regular basis, to test our assumptions and ensure that we are as welcoming and accessible a community as possible. There are things we do well and things we can do better.

We started wearing nametags so that members and friends of First Trinity and St. Matthew's could learn to know each other. If everyone wore them it would also a way to identify visitors who did not make nametags. However, many from First Trinity either never wore their nametags or quit wearing them after meeting the St. Matthew's members who came this fall. The problem now is that as more St. Matthew's people join us it it harder for them to put names with our faces.

Our greeter program is very intentional - the best of the churches to which we have belonged. Actually it is the only one where there is a difference between ushers and greeters, a process for training greeters and procedures for them to follow. The problem is that we don't have enough greeters, so the same ones are used too often. I share responsibility for this as I have been unable to go through training. Once I do I intend to serve as needed. It is hard to correctly identify visitors, especially for someone newer to the congregation. We have grown considerably in the past years, especially with the addition of St. Matthew's. We want and need to make sure every visitor is warmly welcomed and connects with someone from our congregations to the extent feasible. We are fortunate to have pastors with wonderful memories for names and faces, but we all need to take responsibility for reaching out to people we think might be visitors or returning parishioners from one of our two congregations.

There has been some discussion about the format of our announcements, bulletins and the Voice. Some have strong opinions, others have been silent or pointed us to core principles. While it is important that we be good stewards of our resources and of the environment, there is much evidence to suggest that the easier it is to follow the order of service, the better jobs churches do in attracting new members or regular visitors. Currently the only thing we have to turn to outside of the printed order of service is the lessons on the back cover. Some would say that is too much. While it was only raised in jest, some churches are successfully putting the words and music on flat panel screens and only handing out announcements/prayer requests with contact information to take home. We need to discuss the general issue more thoroughly, but with sensitivity to those who might, for a variety of reasons have difficulty with more than one easy to read booklet to follow.

We have all the elements that it takes to be a welcoming and inclusive community, these are just some areas we need to prayerfully consider how we might improve.

Holy Week blessings

2009-04-13T21:31:00.005-04:00

I thank God for the opportunities for the variety of partnerships given First Trinity this Holy Week.

This past week we worshipped Maundy Thursday with First Church taking the lead in a moving Tenebrae service. It was wonderful sharing the elements with a circle with people from First Trinity, St. Matthews and First Church, and then watching the gradual extinguishing of light during a series of readings of the Passion story.

Good Friday services were held at Our Redeemers, which was our first time there, and was a truly wonderful experience, shared with 12 others from First Trinity. Pastor Wendy's sermon was simply outstanding. The music and the space were great and Our Redeemers has a pastor and congregation I hope to know better in the future. It was really nice to see Pastors Tom, Wendy and Phil all at both services. It was also great to meet Pastor Phil's wife Karen, as they rarely get to worship together because she works for a church in Baltimore. It was very powerful to share the peace by sharing "Christ died for you" and replying "And also for you."

Easter worship with St. Matthews and First Trinity was incredible. Pastor Phil's friend Pastor Grover helping the children find the Alleluias, the glorious professional sounding music, the full pews, Pastor Tom's memorable sermon, "Sucked In , Washed Up, Blown Over ." It was a morning of celebration, ending with the Pancake brunch prepared by First Church.

First Trinity's life has been powerfully enriched by the partnerships with which we have been blessed, with both First Church and St. Matthews, as well as Our Redeemers and St. Paul's with whom we share mission trips. We need to both take full advantage of the richness of these partnerships and see where God is leading us.

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Let us surround ourselves with the depth of holy week activities

2009-04-06T21:23:00.008-04:00

I have a new friend who is going through a difficult time, so I wrote her a quick email today telling her she was in my prayers and I was hoping she was doing OK. She responded "I am fine and surrounded with the depth of holy week activities." She didn't say involved in, she said surrounded by, she didn't say busy-ness, she said depth. I felt blessed by her email.

My prayer for our combined congregations is that this week we all immerse ourselves in, surround ourselves by and experience the depth of Holy Week. Our variety of Lenten preparatory experiences started with the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper and Ash Wednesday services and continued as a rich tapestry of Sunday worship services and fellowship, private and family devotions using the resource book we created, cottage meetings, Wednesday Bible studies, and the Wise Women retreat. In addition we had the Health Fair and Black History celebration that, while not oriented to Lent, were opportunities for fellowship, education, reflection and thanksgiving. Psalm Sunday worship was deeply moving and gave us a look forward, to and through Holy Week. We have a joint Maundy Thursday service with First Church and travel to Our Redeemers for joint Good Friday worship. Then our Alleluias will return (will the children remember where they were hidden?) on Sunday, when we celebrate the Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord back at 4th and E. There is indeed much with which to surround ourselves and much depth of experience, emotion and remembrance in the coming week.

John and I have a special blessing this Holy Week. Our foster daughter's oldest son, now 22, is bringing his fiancé to visit us so that we can meet her before their June wedding. We have known Ben since the day he was born, and he is very special to us. We are inordinately proud of the young man he has become, a man of principle, a man of faith, a mature man capable of the deep commitment required of marriage. We are excited to meet his Amy, a woman about whom our foster daughter says she cannot find one thing she does not love. They met shortly after Ben arrive at the small Christian liberal arts college that has so nurtured and matured his faith so we have been waiting a long time for this meeting.

Ben was confirmed in our former church, and together with his siblings worshipped with us from the time his family moved to Fergus Falls when he was in sixth grade. He visited John before I arrived and before we found First Trinity, so we are thrilled to now bring him - and Amy - to our new church home. We know that they will feel the welcoming hospitality, the love of the Gospel and spirit of service - and the Minnesota connections - that we felt on our first visit.

It will indeed be a rich blessing to surround ourselves with the depth of Holy Week activities while seeing First Trinity and its partnership with St. Matthew's, and our fellowship with First Church, through Ben and Amy's eyes.

The assets that are our pastors

2009-03-29T22:10:00.003-04:00

VP Ron Morgan and I have at long last sat down with each of our pastors to review the year past and current. As those who know him can imagine, Ron did a wonderful job of creating a space where real sharing could occur. I learned a great deal from this process.

Our pastors are truly longing for feedback of all types. We will be developing a survey with the goal of getting broader based feedback than is typical. However, like our meeting, surveys are events, and our pastors deserve and need an ongoing process that allows them continuous growth.

As a Council we need to figure out how to address this need, however, it will take a commitment of the congregation to ongoing feedback. As discussed in a recent blog, there are many reasons people might find it difficult to provide pastors feedback. However, none of them are ultimately legitimate, or at least helpful.

As a congregation and as a Council we need to treat our pastors as the incredible assets they are. I believe that the Church is the people, and the work of the congregation, the collective ministry of God’s people. In the Lutheran tradition pastors are called to ministries of Word and Sacrament. Everything else we, the priesthood of believers, are all called to; every aspect of ministry and administration of the Church.

We may, for a variety of reasons, ask or let our pastors take on responsibilities we can, and possibly should do. However, we must recognize that the congregation, its vitality, its faithfulness, its growth, its steadfastness, its ministries, its outreach, its education, its physical plant, its financial health, its hospitality, its resilience, all are our individual and corporate responsibilities as members.

We at First Trinity ask and permit our pastors to take on what is truthfully more than their fair share of responsibilities. Yes, we are paying them, but just like you can pay someone to care for your home or your children, they remain your responsibility.

I am concerned that we have not been good partners with our pastors. We know how fortunate we are to have them, we appreciate their work ethic, their talents, their availability, the many ways they minister to us. However, it is clear to me that we can and should do more to support them, to more equitably share the responsibilities that our in fact our own. All they are asking for is feedback, but I think we can do better.

Whatever solutions we raise have to be based on the experience and needs of both our pastors and the congregation. This requires dialog and commitment to mutual problem solving. I am going to raise this issue with our church Council next Sunday morning. If anyone wants to join in this discussion they can meet with us in the library at 7:45 a.m., talk to Council members and officers, talk to the pastors, or even respond to this blog.

This issue is tightly interwoven with each of the year’s priorities:

It is all about stewardship. How can we be better stewards of the asset that is our pastors? What would change if we were each better stewards of all our God-given gifts, including our time and energy?

It is also all about governance. How can we redesign our governance structure to allow First Trinity to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible and to provide a reliable vetting process so we can confidently identify how all of our activities and programs fit in our overall strategy for achieving our vision, living out our mission, and be true to our values.

And, most certainly, it is all about redevelopment. We have a lot of work to do as a congregation before we can make wise and informed decisions regarding what to do about the asset that is our location and our land. Unfortunately most of the work has been born by Pastor Tom. The Redevelopment Committee and the Council need to step up to the plate and make the best possible use of Pastor Tom’s experience, knowledge and talents and do the rest ourselves.

These are the questions and issues that we will be exploring together in the coming months. I look forward to your input and trust that together First Trinity will make decisions that recognize and make prudent use of the God-given assets we have in Pastors Tom and Wendy.

Prayer request

2009-03-26T21:26:00.003-04:00

Sometimes when we watch the news tragedy seems so far away. I have been extremely busy this week, never getting home in time for the evening news, just catching NPR in the morning, which has been focused on the economy and world affairs during my brief window of availability.

I received the following in this morning's email, from a dear friend still working at Concordia College, my alma mater, and where I was a dean for 13 years. She lives in Moorhead, MN, just two blocks north of the college, and about seven blocks from the Red River, across the road from Fargo, ND.

My friend Peggy lost her house to the flood today. I'm sitting here listening to the news. It's not good. I'm not even sure what to say, except I'm scared and I'm feeling compelled to write our family and friends. Somehow, it makes me feel better to connect with you all. We've had rain, ice snow. Today it snowed 7 inches and it's still snowing.

Today, they evacuated people from Oxbow (just south of Fargo. Airboats are the only way in and out now since the ice, snow and and water are everywhere. Tomorrow, they are evacuating Eventide Nursing Home and it's assisted living facilities (just 7 blocks from us). The town of Georgetown(just north of Moorhead) is being evacuated since they are building a circle dike around the town. They haven't issued an evacuation notice to us yet but Chip is emptying the basement as I write this.

We are grateful for all the help that is coming to town and all the positive thoughts that you have shared. The energy that people are bringing to the effort helps us feel hopeful that we're going to beat this. The mayor says he is "skeptically optimistic". Not sure what that means. The volunteer effort does inspire hope in humanity. Watch the news and keep us in your thoughts. I'm not sure if I'll get to update you all again. I just felt the need to take a moment out to write but now it's back to the shuttle vans and sandbags. Thanks.

All of a sudden I remember the horror of the 1997 floods, yet they say this is worst. I can only imagine what my friends, my former colleagues, my former community, both those I know and those I do not, are going through. It is not just Fargo-Moorhead, it is the entire region. I feel so far away, so unable to respond.

Yet, there is something I can do, and I will. I will ask for the prayers of this First Trinity-St. Matthew's community, for the communities that are so struggling. Let us sustain those that labor and those that are weary and those that are cold and those that are broken hearted with the most powerful gift we can give, our prayers.

Wise Women Retreat

2009-03-22T18:07:00.005-04:00

The Wise Women of First Trinity and St. Matthews - and friends - had a wonderful retreat this weekend at the Seton Retreat and Conference Center in Emmitsburg, MD, at the foot of Catoctin Mountain. All but three of the 19 women were able to come Friday, and we left after worship Saturday afternoon, with most of us stopping for dinner on the way home.

Many contributed to the planning and execution of the retreat, which focused on the theme of dwelling with God. Using dwelling as a framework we discussed and experienced opening ourselves to God's presence through scripture, nature, psalm songs, others, service and sacrament. There was plenty of laughter, rich sharing, and a few tears. Most of the group was able to delay their return for a final gathering at The Cozy Restaurant in Thurmont, which Fran Knoll had scouted out for us, even though she was gone for the retreat.

The weather was perfect, the women open and caring, and the scheduled allowed both structured and unstructured time to enjoy each other's company and get to know people better, as well as time for self reflection. This was the third annual Wise Women Retreat, and our experience and participation, though always varied, was rich.

I appreciated many things about this retreat, including:

how well the women mixed and clicked - it was great to see the women of St. Matthews and have non-member and new friends join and so comfortably mix in;
the number of women that contributed to the program;
the openness of our sharing;
the opportunity to get to know new people and more about people I knew;
the newness and loveliness of the setting, which included a labyrinth;
the discussion of moving forward with plans to build a peace garden to promote peace and reconciliation;
the influence of women, not only each other, but the Daughters of Charity, the story of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, and the collection beautiful Madonna’s from all over the world;
the time to relax and be still; and
Pastor Wendy, for her organizational, leadership, and great facilitation skills.

We already have plans for the next retreat, scheduled for Saturday, March 6, 2010 at Hallowood Retreat Center, Comus, MD. This will be quite a bit closer, and hopefully will allow even greater participation. Women, mark your calendars!

Feedback for our Pastors

2009-03-08T17:58:00.003-04:00

It is already March and for a variety of reasons we have not met with our pastors to review the year past and future. We are re-scheduled to do so later this month, but in doing so, both pastors made it clear that they look forward to hearing feedback on "how they are doing." Having them say that reminded me that congregations are not very good at supporting pastors by providing feedback, either positive or negative.

It is easier to give positive feedback than negative, but I wonder how many actually do so. I fear many of us too often take our pastors for granted. They are both really talented and committed people, and so we may just assume that by coming on Sunday and giving of time, money and talents, the pastors know that we are happy with their work. I hear all the time how well loved and well respected our pastors are, but I wonder how often they hear it? When was the last time you told one of the pastors directly something you thought they did especially well, or that you appreciated something they did?

For most of us it is difficult to provide negative feedback in any setting, let alone to pastors. While some people are willing to speak about their hot button issues, others have trouble with the idea of raising any negative issues with their pastors. To some, raised with the tradition of 'Herr Pastor,' giving feedback would be unheard of or incredibly pretentious. While pastors are called to serve congregations, many assume that members of the congregation are not in a position to question anything they do. However, it must be frustrating for pastors to hear of problems indirectly. I know that ours welcome feedback of all kinds. I have no desire to be the go between, so I am glad that people have not seen that as part of the job description of president of the congregation.

I have never been in a congregation with Elders before, so I am just learning their role. According to our First Trinity constitution, Elders shall serve as an adviser, counselor and sounding board to the Pastors. I hope that having Elders does not suggest that it is not the responsibility of all of us to advise our pastors on the ways that they minister most effectively to us, or on the ways they could strengthen their ministry. We are truly all responsible for First Trinity. While Pastors Tom and Wendy are called to ministries of Word and Sacrament, their other responsibilities are all shared. The success of their ministries impacts, though does not define, the success of First Trinity – however we might measure success. We owe it to our pastors, to ourselves and to each other to support our pastors with prayer, willingness to assume mutual responsibilities and to provide them the feedback they seek.

Ourstory

2009-03-03T19:07:00.003-05:00

Sunday was a very special day for First Trinity and St. Matthews. We celebrated Black History month in several ways that honored and expanded 'ourstory.'

We were welcomed to the day with breakfast, graciously provided by Edna Hicks and Mazie Wilson, members of St. Matthew’s. It was hard to get started as members of both St. Matthew’s and First Trinity seemed to enjoy the extended opportunity for fellowship.

Dr. Cain Hope Felder, professor of New Testament Language and Literature at the Howard University School of Divinity, led a inspiring Bible study focusing on how our Christian story is one of inclusion, but has for too long excluded people of color and women. He shared his experiences in both being brought in from the margins, and bringing people in from the margins. He talked about the power of story and the importance of telling one's own story and seeing oneself inside the Salvation Story. His story was both his personal story and our mutual story.

Dr. Felder continued the theme he started in Bible study in his sermonic address during worship. He focused on Acts 8:26-39, the story of the conversion of the black Ethiopian Minister of Finance, the first conversion of someone who was not clearly Jewish.

Following worship we moved back to the Fellowship Hall for a lunch catered by New Course Catering, a division of the restaurant which is one of our partner ministries. There accomplished members and friends told their personal stories of African American history and witness with great dignity and sometimes humor, helping us better understand 'ourstory.' Margaret Rozelle, Melinda Dix Hunt and Pastor Tom acted in the one act play "Our Own Sit In" that Margaret wrote about one of her formative experiences, bringing the Civil Rights Movement to her small hometown. Ambassador Richard Fox shared his most impressive resume and stories from his life in the Foreign Service. Phyllis Faunteroy talked about her family and career as a teacher and librarian, and shared pictures she had painted. Dr. Roy West spoke powerfully of the racism he had experienced throughout his distinguished life.

Pastor Huber had also made arrangements for Cecilia “Cissy” Marshall to be with us. Ms. Marshall is widow of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (St. Matthew’s is naming the community center which they are building as part of their redevelopment in honor of Thurgood and Cecilia Marshall.) Unfortunately Ms. Marshall was in an accident and unable to attend. The good thing is that we now have the opportunity to follow-up with what we started Sunday with another program featuring Ms. Marshall.

If you attended Sunday's events they will remain with you, if you missed them you should listen to the podcast from the First Trinity website and seek out Margaret, Phyllis, Dick and Roy and learn about their many accomplishments and experiences as African Americans.

At 7 p.m. Wednesdays during Lent Pastor Huber will continue the discussion started by Dr. Felder. He will lead Bible studies that will help us explore stories from the margins of our faith tradition and how they can grow our understanding of Christ and 'ourstory.’ I am saddened because I will only be in town one of the Wednesdays, as I know I would get a great deal from participating each week.

Off to a great start!

2009-02-22T18:52:00.005-05:00

Today was the first meeting of the Partnership Committee of St. Matthews and First Trinity. We reviewed the elements that our Memorandum of Understanding outlined for our partnership: worship, education, fellowship, pastoral care, financial and building use issues.

We discussed what had worked especially well over the past four months, what we needed to work on and who would be responsible. We will be sharing the details shortly, but the most important thing about the meeting was the clarity of our mutual commitment to what we understand as our shared ministry.

We are only in the beginning of our journey together, and there is much we can do to meet our goals and seek to discern and live out God's intention for us. We are and will continue in a 'learning as we go' mode, building success on success, addressing issues forthrightly and remain focused on making our shared ministry all it can be. We are still getting to know each other, and we have and will continue to have challenges, but I am confident that we are doing - and continuing to seek - God's will for our congregations. We do not know where this journey might take us, but my prayer is that we do not limit our options, nor limit our God.

What can we do? We can pray. We can gather together as often and in as many settings as possible and get to know each other better. We can work together in all the aspects of our various ministries. We can seek to advance the kingdom of God in all we do. We can keep working, seeking, joining, praying, worshiping, teaching, building, growing, loving, serving, singing, and learning together.

Does size matter?

2009-02-13T11:48:00.007-05:00

This month's The Lutheran magazine featured articles on the small, midsized and large congregations and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. I read this with interest, since First Trinity is by definition, a small congregation. According to The Lutheran "worship attendance, financial giving and participation in ministries and community outreach is high among members of small churches is high."

Doesn't that describe First Trinity? The article addresses three issues on which we are currently focusing: the need to partner with other congregations, financial reliance on a small proportion of members, and leadership challenges.

Many small ELCA congregations join their resources with others, such as we have with First Church, St. Matthew's, and St. Paul's to varying degrees. Our relatively new partnership with St. Matthews requires nurturing but holds great promise in terms of extending the reach of our ministries.
Like most small churches, as described in the article, FT relies upon the financial commitment a small number of members. Hopefully, as we explore all aspects of stewardship in the coming year we can encourage the growth of a new generation of people who give beyond themselves in a variety of ways.
Another of our priorities, governance, is meant to help address the leadership challenges inherent in smaller congregations. We are indeed blessed to have pastoral and music staff, far beyond that which is typical of a congregation our size. However, we only have so many people to share responsibilities for all that we do as a congregation. We need to figure out how to be as good stewards of our leadership as we are asking people to be of their resources. We need to do this in a way that does not inhibit our development of new ministries or close our minds and hearts to God’s leading.

The remarkable thing about First Trinity is that no one seems to have told us that we are a small church with limited financial and leadership resources. As someone mentioned at last week’s Council meeting, we are not stuck in ‘we have always done it that way.’ We are willing to try new things.

This has led to our being recently selection by the Synod to participate in an outreach initiative to young adults. This is an exciting opportunity for FT and recognition of our work in this area. It has been an incredible blessing for a church the size of First Trinity to have a second pastor, and most appropriate that her ministry focuses on outreach. First Trinity’s Young Adult Group is successful in not only how it attracts young adults to the church, but also how well it integrates younger members into all aspects of congregational life.

The upcoming our Health Fair is another example of how FT provides people not only a wide variety of existing ministries in which they can participate but the opportunity to develop new ministries of interest. When Kent Forde became Minister of Mutual Care last June he knew he was free to pursue new directions. The fruits of his labor will take place from 9-noon on Saturday, February 21 at the church. This event is about both outreach and our personal stewardship. I hope that members of First Trinity, St. Matthews, First Church will participate, along with our neighbors.

We ask God's blessing

2009-01-17T21:19:00.002-05:00

I have had CNN running as I prepare for tomorrow's Annual Congregational Assembly. As I listen I am overwhelmed with gratitude for where our country finds itself this day. We are again a hopeful people, all the more impressive because our president-elect continually reminds us of our individual responsibilities for making our collective hopes and dreams come true, even though we are seriously challenged on every front. He challenges us to individual responsibility and a significant level of engagement in service; to think in terms of 'we' rather than 'me.'

I do not want to take one iota away from all this, but I am glad that Ruth Worman helped us put this in perspective in presenting devotions at our January Council meeting. She reminded us that "one person, one president, one administration cannot fulfill all our hopes and dreams. While I believe that God will bless the efforts of a President and a people who seek the common good, I look to our King Jesus to finally bring us lasting peace, with justice." Ruth then shared Psalm 110, which she summarized as celebrating God's sovereignty over all earthly kings and powers, a sovereignty handed over to Jesus once and for all.

Tomorrow First Trinity will look back at what was accomplished in 2008 and to our hopes and challenges for 2009. We will look at our various programs and ministries and our progress and plans for our priority focus on stewardship, governance and redevelopment. We will then consider a budget that is based on faith and hope rather than fear. I am extraordinarily proud of our Council for attempting to discern and pass a budget focused on what they believe First Trinity is called to be and do in the coming year.

I pray that the congregation will honor and support the leadership, faith and hope exemplified in our plans and budget for 2009. I pray that we will be inspired by the spirit of the times and rise up to the challenges that lie before us. We know we are not apart or immune from the prevailing economic hardships. However, we must ask God to bless us with a spirit of abundance and hope, and, as our incoming president asks, our full engagement in community and in service.

Trinity Trotters in "The Lutheran"

2009-01-03T21:26:00.004-05:00

Imagine my surprise when, while flipping through the new edition of The Lutheran, I found an entire page devoted to the Trinity Trotters. What a treat to see the picture and read the story with the quotes from our monument(al) Trotters! What great promotion for First Trinity!

My prayer is that this article is read by someone who is planning a move or has recently moved to DC, or perhaps by someone living the area who saw the article while home for Christmas. Hopefully they will be led by this article to come check us out.

The Lutheran is an important vehicle for communication, education, collaboration and contributes to our identity with the ELCA as well Lutherans around the world. I am very grateful that First Trinity continues to provide subscriptions so that The Lutheran is sent to our homes. As I look at the current issue of The Lutheran I am reminded why I make reading it a priority:

It is full of news and information about the ElCA and other church bodies and about ELCA congregations and their ministries.
It helps us consider issues of importance, such as what happened to respect and how we can get it back.
It informs us of needs, such as how seminaries are impacted by this tough economy.
It provides study guides on a variety of topics.
It helps me keep track of former pastors, friends and seminary classmates.
It provides information about and strengthens my tie to our Lutheran colleges and seminaries.
It offers reviews of books and films from a shared value system. (Now I want to go see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!")
It is a forum for discussion about a wide variety of issues, opening my eyes, heart and sometimes mind to the opinions and concerns of other Lutherans - even when their letters to the editor make me crazy.
It shares ideas that can be tried or built on by other congregations.
It reminds me that First Trinity - and myself, are partners in ministries that span the globe.

I hope that others take the time to enjoy and learn from The Lutheran as much as I do.

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

2008-12-08T20:43:00.010-05:00

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

2008-11-02T19:29:00.005-05:00

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!

2008-10-27T09:50:00.000-04:00

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

2008-10-19T16:57:00.001-04:00

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

2008-10-13T21:13:00.006-04:00

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

2008-10-06T00:50:00.005-04:00

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

2008-09-30T09:04:00.009-04:00

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

2008-09-22T15:19:00.002-04:00

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.