MOVING TOWARD EPIPHANY
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Merry Sixth Day of Christmas, everyone! I hope you all have had a chance to rest and relax and to safely spend some time with family and friends during these holidays. (And if you're looking for a recipe for all those geese-a-laying coming your way today, let me know – cooking one is an annual holiday tradition at the Riggs household.)
As we approach the New Year, we are getting very close to the launch of our Small Groups at Union Avenue, and since it's been awhile since we've talked about them, here's a quick refresher/introduction to what will be involved and why they're so important.
What are these Small Groups?
Small groups are intentional gathers of clusters among our congregation so that we can talk, pray, and dream together about how we are doing and what God is calling us to do and to be. As part of Union Avenue's participation in the EPIPHANY program, they are a tool by which we can do two very important things: 1) intentionally draw together in new ways among our members, and 2) have a “holy conversation” throughout the whole congregation without trying to have all of us in the same room at one time. (We like to talk and we'd never get anything done that way!) These groups are gatherings of 8-10 people (give or take) that will take place either at someone's home, or a restaurant, or even in the Gallery. They'll be about 60-90 minutes, depending how much we get to talking and sharing with one another, and they'll be at different times of the week and month, depending on the particular small group.
Why do we need them?
A lot has changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in truth, Mainline Protestant congregations have been struggling with societal changes for decades now that have presented great challenges to church growth, missional programming, and being an effective and transforming presence of love and benevolence in their various contexts. The 21st century is a different landscape of ministry than that to which most of us are accustomed or in which many of us were raised, and we need a 21st century game plan if we want to be successful. Since no one has written that playbook yet, we get to do that crucial piece of ministry that will give us a path forward: visioning and discernment.
What has taken so long to get them going?
We had hoped to get our Small Groups going this past summer, but the advent of vaccinations allowed Americans the ability to travel and have a sense of normalcy once again after a year of lockdown and strict COVID mitigations. Between our focus on reopening the building to in-person activities and Union Avenue's busy summer travel schedule, the time was not conducive to scheduling meetings across our membership. So too, this fall had been focused upon a return to sanctuary worship and assessing our facilities and programs as we reopened. And most importantly, after we lost our beloved Suzanne, we needed to focus on remembering her and giving ourselves a chance to start to cry and grieve now that she is gone – not the time to dream of the future.
Now that we have gone through the season of Advent and are half-way through Christmas, we as a congregation are back into the rhythm of the liturgical life of the Church and the year-long telling of the story of Jesus Christ. We're getting back into the groove of the Spirit, and so now this is a ripe time for us to start thinking intentionally about the road ahead. We've waited until now because the time just hasn't been right until now. And hopefully there won't be any pandemic-related surprises that would further impede us – fingers crossed and prayers lifted up.
When will these Small Groups meet?
Each group will meet at a different time on a different day and (likely) on a different week than any of the others, all spread out over a 4-8 week timeframe. We hope that each group will have its initial meeting sometime in January or February. Lent starts at the beginning of March, and we want to have at least one of these holy conversations under our belts by then. Hopefully we'll have at least another before Holy Week, and yet another before Pentecost. If scheduling works out, we my be able to have as many as four of five of these before the summer gets underway – time will tell.
Right now we have five confirmed Small Groups for people to join:
1) The O'Fallon, MO folk will gather on a Thursday evening of their choice at a local restaurant meeting room large enough to provide for social distancing. This group is planning on having supper together and then staying for the holy conversation. If you are in the area of O'Fallon, please contact Neil McNeill to get signed up.
2) There will be a group hosted by Karen Tye on a Monday evening at Laclede Groves (Shrewsbury/Webster). If Mondays work best for you, please reach out to Karen to get signed up. (or the Benzingers – see below).
3) There will be another group hosted by the Benzingers at their house (Frontenac) on a Monday evening. If Mondays work best for you, please reach out to them to get signed up (or Karen Tye – see above).
4 & 5) There will TWO different groups held on two different Sundays in the Gretchen Brigham Gallery following worship. If Sundays work best for you, please reach out to me (Rev. Michael) to get signed up for one of these two groups.
6) ...and there is always an opportunity to start a new group at another time, date, and place. If you are interested in a different group that the five listed above, or if you yourself and interested in hosting/organizing a group, please reach out to me (Rev. Michael) so we can get such a group going.
Z) “Z” for “Zoom”, and this is an option for all groups. If you don't feel able to attend in person, each group will have the ability to connect you virtually through the Zoom videoconferencing platform which has become ubiquitous with pandemic-age Church. You can join via video or even telephone, and we'd love to have you!
What will happen at them?
The first meeting will focus primarily on establishing a sense of trust and relationship among one another so that we'll feel comfortable sharing our thoughts and feelings in a safe place. We'll share some things about ourselves as we are each comfortable, pray for one another, start to name our concerns and dreams for Union Avenue, and learn about the marks of a vital congregation.
The second meeting will help us begin to name what's been going on with Union Avenue over the decades and recent years honestly, succinctly, lovingly, and with hope. We'll also begin to go through the Congregational Assessment that was done as part of the EPIPHANY program this past April and May.
The third meeting will help us see and name our values as a congregation, our sense of mission, and what God calls us to do and to be as a church. We'll also discuss what it means to be “missional” and how that shapes our understanding of ministry and congregational identity.
The fourth meeting will engage the Future Story materials that our church leaders have been working on and will be bringing together in a workshop retreat at the end of January to share with us all. From it, we'll begin to explore the real and amazing possibilities around us of which God is calling us to be a part and by which we can attract and partner with other like-minded and like-spirited people and perhaps even become church together.
I will be a part of these first four meetings to help facilitate the conversation but not to lead discussion. My role will be to listen, help us hear one another, and to help us together pray and discern and discuss the life of Union Avenue. I will take a pastoral role, but not the lead. The Holy Spirit will lead us through your insight and the ideas and concern you bring.
How long will we have them?
These first four meetings are crucial for us getting the most out of the EPIPHANY program and capitalizing on the opportunities for our future that are right in front of us now. After that, the scope and shape of these small groups may change, but hopefully we will have found a new and meaningful way to find the life of the Spirit together through these gatherings and we'll adapt them to whatever our circumstance will be at that time. Perhaps we'll have several clusters of Small Groups around the STL meeting at various times simple because we love each other and have discovered that we want to be together more! These groups could become easy and non-threatening ways for newcomers to Union Avenue to begin to plug in. Hopefully, in addition to having holy conversations, these Small Groups will help us revitalize our congregational life and systems of congregational care. Small Groups are tools by which we can build the Union Avenue of the future and faithfully become the church we want to be and that God needs us to be. How long is all up to us.
This has been a long read, but an important one – THANK YOU for your love for the expression of Christ's Church known as Union Avenue and for your faithfulness to the loving work we share as Disciples. Please reach out and sign up, and I look forward to sharing with you soon! — Rev. Michael