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mgagnonlv said:
Finally, one word for all of us. I see that many churches see websites as a static billboard. They still advertise the latest services... for Lent 2017. It is quite important to design the website so that most of it is static, but that one or two pages are updated regularly. There is nothing more "dead" than stale news.
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One of my 2 churches' websites is still advertising the Advent series of sermons I did. In 2014.
 
mgagnonlv said:
Does she hate it more at your church than at other churches? Is there something specific about your church that bugs her?
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ELCIC are a bit more conservative than UCCan (though they are the more liberal of the Lutheran denominations in Canada as I understand it), or at least Dad's church was. I'd find them a tough slog to go to from what I heard at the funeral though I've been tempted to see what the one nearest me is like. So perhaps that's an issue.
 
Redbaron said:
One of my 2 churches' websites is still advertising the Advent series of sermons I did. In 2014.
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The problem I see with the fellowship's current website is that only the newsletter and service schedule are getting updated. The rest is fairly static. They had a chance years ago to go to a more dynamic, wordpress-style content management system that would have allowed easy updating by the office or appropriate board members (I connected them up with a guy I knew but they decided he cost too much) but instead they did a traditional website.
 
Thanks for your thoughts, @mgagnonlv !

mgagnonlv said:
1. You were visiting a "new" church. I wonder if their Hawaiian style liturgy was to celebrate something special. I remember once visiting a church that celebrated the Jamaican national day with a special Caribbean service. A second or third visit would help you secure the real vibe of that parish and know if their liturgy or sermons are good. Maybe their good preacher was off duty that week? I don't think it would improve their greeting committee, however.
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I agree that generally, I'd go back once or twice more, but as you put, I don't think the greeting committee will change...

mgagnonlv said:
2. Welcoming people is an important task and not everyone is good at it. I remember a former parish of mine (now closed) where we had a wonderful faithful guy who was always there handling books as people came in. But that was the only thing he did. If nobody else was around to actually speak to people, then greeting did not happen.
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In all the congregations where I've been a member, there was a group in charge of welcoming and situating visitors - the minister always was part of the group. It's my experience, at least in Brazil, that people do enjoy to chat with the minister to know a little more of the parish/congregation. I myself included.

mgagnonlv said:
3. You seem to have found your ideal Lutheran (ECLIC) Church. Keep it! Have you tried to bring her to your parish? Does she hate it more at your church than at other churches? Is there something specific about your church that bugs her? If so, you might be able to help solve the issue. For example, if they assume that she will be very involved in ministry because you are, then you might tell your priest that she should be "off the hook".
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She has a problem with the "heavy" liturgy of ELCIC. She thinks 4 readings are too much and she cannot concentrate or meditate about them. She isn't a big fan of church music. It's difficult. She's from Québec and was raised in a secular/atheist home, going to a United Church sometimes with her grandparents. She's searching for something like that, but I think her memories were more about her grandparents and the general ambiance. Difficult to find it.

mgagnonlv said:
Finally, one word for all of us. I see that many churches see websites as a static billboard. They still advertise the latest services... for Lent 2017. It is quite important to design the website so that most of it is static, but that one or two pages are updated regularly. There is nothing more "dead" than stale news.
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Totally agreed. Very frustrating to see websites with old news.
 
Mendalla said:
ELCIC are a bit more conservative than UCCan (though they are the more liberal of the Lutheran denominations in Canada as I understand it), or at least Dad's church was. I'd find them a tough slog to go to from what I heard at the funeral though I've been tempted to see what the one nearest me is like. So perhaps that's an issue.
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Well, my parish is not conservative politically, but theologically certainly much more than the regular UCCan congregation. Also in general more liturgical, although less than the Anglicans.
What have you heard at the funeral?
 
We used to have a minister who felt he had to concentrate on the upcoming service the hour before the service, so he was kind of grumpy if you caught him and wanted to talk tohim before the service. He was available afterwards, though.
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
We used to have a minister who felt he had to concentrate on the upcoming service the hour before the service, so he was kind of grumpy if you caught him and wanted to talk tohim before the service. He was available afterwards, though.
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I think afterwards is fine. But it's disappointing when the minister pops up one minute before and disappears right after the service.
 
Giancarlos - if your wife just doesn't get turned on to church attendance she could just stay home most weeks. You wouldn't be the first minister to have a non-attending spouse. Some politely show up to the more important services of the year. Many hold a position in the congregation of some sort (organiser, or volunteer of some event or other).
 
KayTheCurler said:
Giancarlos - if your wife just doesn't get turned on to church attendance she could just stay home most weeks. You wouldn't be the first minister to have a non-attending spouse. Some politely show up to the more important services of the year. Many hold a position in the congregation of some sort (organiser, or volunteer of some event or other).
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I already told her that - but she does want to find a place for her. Next week I think she'll be attending a Quaker meeting. Maybe she finds herself there.
 
KayTheCurler said:
Giancarlos - if your wife just doesn't get turned on to church attendance she could just stay home most weeks. You wouldn't be the first minister to have a non-attending spouse. Some politely show up to the more important services of the year. Many hold a position in the congregation of some sort (organiser, or volunteer of some event or other).
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Yes, I've seen it the case in some United Churches where the spouse of the minister doesn't participate in church life. I've always found such cases sad. I love my Toronto and Suwon churches where, in each case, the pastor and his wife are actively engaged in the faith community.
 
Jae said:
Yes, I've seen it the case in some United Churches where the spouse of the minister doesn't participate in church life. I've always found such cases sad. I love my Toronto and Suwon churches where, in each case, the pastor and his wife are actively engaged in the faith community.
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Frankly, it's 2019. A minister's spouse should no longer be defined by that status. The UU fellowship's last settled minister was engaged to another minister who had a charge of her own in upstate Michigan. Gave me flashbacks to our years of living apart but never seemed to be an issue for the congregation.
 
Mendalla said:
Frankly, it's 2019. A minister's spouse should no longer be defined by that status. The UU fellowship's last settled minister was engaged to another minister who had a charge of her own in upstate Michigan. Gave me flashbacks to our years of living apart but never seemed to be an issue for the congregation.
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By being together in their churches, my pastors and their wives have an excellent opportunity to model for the rest of us there what Christian marriage should be like. That would be more challenging for them to do if they weren't engaged together in church life.
 
So the Anglican (Church of England) are having a bit of an issue with same gender spouses. There is a big conference of bishops and spouses but same gender spouses are not being invited. Crap the small mindedness of some people. It is an issue worldwide and others who do not support same gender marriage would not come.
 
Mendalla said:
Frankly, it's 2019. A minister's spouse should no longer be defined by that status. The UU fellowship's last settled minister was engaged to another minister who had a charge of her own in upstate Michigan. Gave me flashbacks to our years of living apart but never seemed to be an issue for the congregation.
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Jae said:
By being together in their churches, my pastors and their wives have an excellent opportunity to model for the rest of us there what Christian marriage should be like. That would be more challenging for them to do if they weren't engaged together in church life.
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I think it's always a good thing if husband and wife go to the same church. If they don't, though, I don't see it necessarily as problem. I'm more interested in my wife having a healthy spirituality than following me to the same congregation. If/when I become a minister, I don't see her as the traditional pastor's wife, but most mainline churches don't expect this role anymore. I'm sure though she'll be around to hear my sermons, even if she pursues other spiritual path.
 
Tabitha said:
So the Anglican (Church of England) are having a bit of an issue with same gender spouses. There is a big conference of bishops and spouses but same gender spouses are not being invited. Crap the small mindedness of some people. It is an issue worldwide and others who do not support same gender marriage would not come.
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There are lots of layers of problems with the Anglican Communion regarding same sex marriage, in my opinion. The first of them is the traditional African believes regarding sexuality, and the Africans make up a large sum of the Anglican Communion nowadays, if not the absolute majority. Not just because the west has taken some other decisions regarding sexuality in religious settings we should push them to do the same. Africa has been pushed for way too much time by the West. Even the fact of having a "boss" in England, and having the spoiled American and Canadian churches pushing their decisions to the whole communion is a clear sign of intelectual and theological colonialism. Now that the African churches have realized their power of agency, I doubt the Anglican Communion as it is will survive for long. The first sign is the Church of England stepping back regarding bishops in same sex marriages, fearing what the African bishops will think/do.
 
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