How was church today?

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paradox3 said:
It was our first morning with a new supply minister. . . it's looking promising!
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Sometimes the interim and supply ministers end up being the ones you want to keep. I think we would have been happy to keep Felicia Urbanski but she was already starting the move to the UCCan when she was our interim and, in any case, interims aren't allowed to apply for the settled position.
 
Mendalla said:
Sometimes the interim and supply ministers end up being the ones you want to keep.
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I think this fellow is eligible to apply for the permanent position because his status is supply, not intentional interim.

I understand we have changed the terminology of "intentional interim" to "transitional".
 
Luce NDs said:
No more church for me ... the loving fire of WC2 has driven me away from this conception and thus I am outside the circles ... NER Desh !
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Believe it or not, I'm feeling a bit that way myself today. Just grumpy, and tired of doing a bit too much. I'll be fine, and in fact, I've got to be there next week because I agreed to usher, and I'll be whipping cream for 4 hours on Wednesday in honour of strawberry shortcake day, but sometimes, I just want to pull back. I'm not sure congregations always understand the demands they put on people. And how people who look strong and solid sometimes are not.
 
Sometimes I think congregations really need to ask themselves some hard questions. If strawberry shortcake day means someone (who is less than excited about the idea) is required to whip cream for 4 hours, is it necessary to have this day at all?

Maybe it is time to pull back a bit and see how it goes, @BetteTheRed. Contributing to church life while feeling resentful might not be the best thing . . . but I also know from experience that untangling ourselves from church commitments is not the easiest thing in the world. Good luck!
 
BetteTheRed said:
Believe it or not, I'm feeling a bit that way myself today. Just grumpy, and tired of doing a bit too much. I'll be fine, and in fact, I've got to be there next week because I agreed to usher, and I'll be whipping cream for 4 hours on Wednesday in honour of strawberry shortcake day, but sometimes, I just want to pull back. I'm not sure congregations always understand the demands they put on people. And how people who look strong and solid sometimes are not.
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you chance to mix some special flavours in it and make everybody happy!
 
I am tired of people of status quo ... and those that don't question the validity of power that demands all things should remain the way they are ... thus changing times becomes dangerous as D/Dt's ...

Thus time tells us the rich should get richer even if the theory has deadly consequences ... as a matter of not learning anything from the passing of time ...
 
BetteTheRed said:
Believe it or not, I'm feeling a bit that way myself today. Just grumpy, and tired of doing a bit too much. I'll be fine, and in fact, I've got to be there next week because I agreed to usher, and I'll be whipping cream for 4 hours on Wednesday in honour of strawberry shortcake day, but sometimes, I just want to pull back. I'm not sure congregations always understand the demands they put on people. And how people who look strong and solid sometimes are not.
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I have noticed that many congregations have few active workers. In this case I consider four hours of whipping cream is an unreasonable request. However, I have also observed lots of huffiness when a willing worker becomes reluctant. When I was attending a church I got such weird mixed messages around this topic. I heard the 'busy bees' complaining about being too busy. When I offered to do things to help I was consistently turned down - because they could handle it!

I doubt there is an easy answer - but I think individuals should ensure that they take fairly good care of themselves. Sometimes this means being almost brutally honest!
 
I skipped church on Sunday. It's been pretty uninspiring for me recently, with some irritation mixed in. I'm seriously trying to keep myself open through this amalgamation phase ... and am aware of my frequent negative thoughts. I've heard repeatedly - "oh, so you're joining our church now?" comments - to which I often reply that "no, I am not. I am part of the newly amalgamated church - new church for a new day." Doesn't always go over well, as you might imagine. Not sure I want to keep swimming upstream at this point. Maybe it's just been a long and difficult winter on top of it all & spring will bring more sense of newness & energy. In the meantime, I think I may try a few other local congregations who have new ministers - see if there might be a better fit for me.
 
Good luck with that, Carolla. Amalgamations are never easy and never seamless, as good as the concept appears to be on paper. I do hope you can find a good fit for you fairly soon. In the meantime, enjoy the variety.
 
Carolla said:
I skipped church on Sunday. It's been pretty uninspiring for me recently, with some irritation mixed in. I'm seriously trying to keep myself open through this amalgamation phase ... and am aware of my frequent negative thoughts. I've heard repeatedly - "oh, so you're joining our church now?" comments - to which I often reply that "no, I am not. I am part of the newly amalgamated church - new church for a new day." Doesn't always go over well, as you might imagine. Not sure I want to keep swimming upstream at this point. Maybe it's just been a long and difficult winter on top of it all & spring will bring more sense of newness & energy. In the meantime, I think I may try a few other local congregations who have new ministers - see if there might be a better fit for me.
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I'm always curious, what makes a church a good fit?
 
Thanks Redbaron. It's (amalgamation) been a rushed process in our case - so I'm trying to be gracious (and yet verbal) and recognize the many dynamics of change that are in play. Appreciate your support.
 
A nearby congregation disbanded rather than pursue amalgamation with another.

There is another congregation in this area closing down soon. It is itself an amalgamation of two others from several years ago.

These are not easy times for churches.

Good luck with your search @Carolla. In my experience, church shopping can be both fun and stressful. I would say don't make up your mind too quickly but also be mindful of the location you choose. And keep in mind it can be an easy drive somewhere on a Sunday morning but a horror story at other times of the week.
 
Waterfall said:
Sure
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Could be a very fruitful discussion.

I have walked with four different congregations in this area since returning to church 27 years ago.

Where I am attending now, there is a couple who has done the same, with the addition of one Presbyterian congregation. :)

We have two previous congregations in common although we did not attend them in the same years. A funny thing.
 
Carolla said:
I skipped church on Sunday. It's been pretty uninspiring for me recently, with some irritation mixed in. I'm seriously trying to keep myself open through this amalgamation phase ... and am aware of my frequent negative thoughts. I've heard repeatedly - "oh, so you're joining our church now?" comments - to which I often reply that "no, I am not. I am part of the newly amalgamated church - new church for a new day." Doesn't always go over well, as you might imagine. Not sure I want to keep swimming upstream at this point. Maybe it's just been a long and difficult winter on top of it all & spring will bring more sense of newness & energy. In the meantime, I think I may try a few other local congregations who have new ministers - see if there might be a better fit for me.
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Very typical reaction. One thing that often is not considered is that those changes go together with grief. And how do we properly grief something. There is actually a visual curve that described processes like that, which was introduced to us during our amalgamation. It looks like a trench- if gets worse before it gets better on the other side.
I remember vaguely that there was talk that the improvement usually starts with a small group which is pulling the others up.
Could you have said” I thought YOU are joining MY church” - for a joke?
I don’t know if there is ever the right time and speed for amalgamations. The thing is that the emphasis is usually on the wrong issues- on finances, on buildings. And not on people and their feelings. I would have hoped that the UCC by now has learned and made up a process that congregations can adhere to- but it doesn’t seem to be.
We felt we had to reinvent the whole process, too.
 
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