Storrs Congregational Church
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REPORT FROM THE CORE GROUP
SEPTEMBER 14, 2000
STORRS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Consultants: Hannah Howe and Graham Davidson

Section Directory

I. WORSHIP/SPIRITUALITY | II. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION |III. FELLOWSHIP/MEMBERSHIP
IV. OUTREACH/MISSIONS | Va. STAFFING RECOMMENDATIONS | Vb. MINISTERIAL RELATIONS | VI. FINANCE

THE CHARGE TO THE CORE GROUP: Harold Furr, Chair of the Church Council, moved and it was seconded that: 1. The Church Council establish a committee (core group) to study and evaluate program needs of our church and to make recommendations for pastoral and non-ministerial staffing; and, 2. That the Church Council be directed to hire a team of facilitators recommended by the Conference to work with the Core Group… 

The sole purpose of this summary is to encourage group discussion for those who are present and others who are interested. The process of capturing on paper intense and lively discussion is not a perfect one. Individual comments and statements should not be taken out of context. Please ask a core group member for clarification of any specific comment contained in the following document. We, the Core Group, have worked diligently to formulate these goals and visions for the Church’s future, based upon your responses to the surveys and interviews. Your trust in us is so greatly appreciated. We have prayerfully considered each vision statement, each goal, in hope they will help us discern the direction God would have us move in our Church’s mission in the next five years.

We value all the work each person, each committee, each volunteer, each board, each staff member is doing to keep our Church vital in the community. The areas we see most vital to our growth, both spiritually and physically, are:  Worship/Spirituality; Christian Education; Fellowship/Membership; Outreach; Staffing/(Ministerial Relations); Finance. The vision statements and goals have not been entered into lightly. There were two meetings each month, beginning on January 23, 2000 and ending on June 25, with a congregational workshop on June 21.  Subsequently, meetings were held on August 23 and September 14. We explored where we have been; where we are now; where we would like to be in the year, 2005. 

We first agreed upon a Covenant within which we would work together. We found this to be very helpful and recommend the covenantal process for possible use by other groups. For us, it is a statement of “holy manners,” the manners of a faith community. It is an action of faith, far deeper and more significant than manners of politeness. We cannot change people. That is God’s work. Our aim is to help one another be faithful, to seek to create a safe environment that offers support and reconciliation. A covenant is the promise that we make to uphold the dignity and health of each one. It is for a community where the well being of each member is important. Between the lines, we can affirm what we know as the Golden Rule: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” And so our covenant: 

We have agreed to abide by the following covenant into which we have entered with one another, under God:

1. We will be honest with each other.
2. We will keep confidential those things necessary to keep confidential.
3. We will trust each other.
4. Every statement, comment is valid from the speaker’s point of view.
5. We will be polite with one another.
6. We will share the load equally and participate as fully as we can.
7. We will say something positive about each other’s concerns, statements, suggestions, before noting any weakness.
8. We will be willing to listen openly, giving each time to give their ideas.
9. We will recognize the value of each person in the group and leave with love.
10. We will speak in first person: I…
11. We will work to understand good works, traditions, etc., of the faith community.
12. We will at all times recognize our responsibility to the entire congregation to make our views, decisions, and recommendations as a group. It may not be what I think but what we think together, so the congregation can say: “We are proud where we are going as a congregation together. We are a unit. We love our church.”
13. We will speak the truth in love.

We took a look at our history. Every congregation is powerfully shaped by its history. We can move confidently onward, knowing the strengths to build on and weaknesses to strengthen. We have tried to reflect this in our goals and in our vision statements. We have learned this is a warm, caring Church. Our congregation is an aging community that needs to reach out to young families, UCONN students, and youth. We know the music program is very dear to us, a tradition that reaches across the ages.  

We are very optimistic about our music program, our children, the young leadership among us, and this opportunity to vision the future. We are anxious about the parking facilities, the lack of involvement of students, the lack of participation in our committees, our financial base to care for our facilities and to augment programs for the future, our declining membership. We encourage all members, boards and committees to read the by-laws relative to their responsibilities and expectations. We want to focus intentionally on growth, both in spirituality and membership. We believe these things need our direct attention.

We do believe the following items help keep people invested in our Church: the gospel message, opportunities for Christian growth, intergenerational opportunities, programs for both children and adults, our energetic community outreach, our music program. 

We believe our primary goal is the enhancement of the quality of the religious life of our church. Our secondary goal is the business life of the Church; i.e. how much to raise for the budget, how we shall repair the roof. 

Here is our call to action. It takes all of us to move to the sound of God’s voice, calling us to new beginnings.

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I.  WORSHIP/SPIRITUALITY
Vision: Our worship will be uplifting, exciting, engaging, challenging, and nourishing; participatory and enthusiastic: stretching us mentally and spiritually, through scripture, word, music, praise, and prayer.