Title: Healthy Congregations: Part 3
1Healthy Congregations Part 3
Rev. Joan Van Becelaere Ohio-Meadville District
2Overview
- Today, we will look at Relationships in Healthy
Congregations. - Introductions
- Review of Basic Elements
- Dealing with Conflict
- Forgiveness
- Truth Telling
- Connecting
- Healthy Helping and Unhealthy Helping
3Review of Basic Elements
- All human beings live in emotional systems. The
same emotional processes occur in all
relationships. - Emotional systems are automatic, instinctive,
reactive and defensive. Driving these systems are
innate forces that seek survival. The resulting
behaviors are not learned or thought out. They
are wired in, natural processes.
4Review
- Every person functions within a context of
relationships. Two needs influence these
relationships the need to be separate, to stand
alone and be independent and the need to be
close, to connect and interact with others. - Separation forces work to reduce tension
associated with being too close to others and the
need to affiliate.
5Review
- Closeness forces work to reduce the tension
association with individual differences and the
need to be distinct. - Anxiety arises when individuals sense themselves
to be outside their comfort zone relative to
separateness and closeness. - Automatic, survival based behavior (emotional
reaction) issues from anxiety, limiting ones
imaginative response to a situation.
6Review
- When driven more by emotionality, one loses
clarity, direction, good judgment, discriminatory
powers and resiliency. - Critical to healthy emotional systems is the
ability of leaders to self-differentiate, i.e.
defining self to others while staying in touch
with members of the group, even if the other
members remain reactive and emotional.
7Review
- Self-differentiation directs energy to ones own
functioning, ones own response to the situation
at hand, and ones own contribution to the
interaction.
8Relationships in Healthy Congregations
- In healthy congregations
- People respond graciously and truthfully rather
than judgmentally or secretively. - People develop caring relationships rather than
willful transactions - People empower others rather than try to
dominate them or cure them. - How do we, as leaders, help build healthy
relationships?
9Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Conflict arises from peoples anxiety. When
people engage in conflict, they are more
automatic in the way they behave. They are less
imaginative and thoughtful. - Handling conflict is a great challenge for
leaders. Therefore, they, above all people, need
to manage their own anxiety in order to bring
clarity, decisiveness, and justice to the
situation. - Peter Steinke
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11Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Healthy Congregations are not always harmonious.
We dont always agree. - Conflict is a way of dealing with anxiety in
emotional systems. - Conflict happens in healthy groups. The key is
how it is processed - 1.how we analyze the situation
- 2. what we do to address it and
- 3. our confidence in our ability and resources to
work through it.
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13Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Conflict is characterized by certain behaviors
- Less careful listening
- More extreme actions
- Less tolerance
- More censure, blame, threats
- Less reflective thinking
- More polarization
- Less imagination
- More covert activity, operating undercover
- Less focus on ones own contribution to the
problem - More willfulness
- Less attention to solving the problem
- More attention to relieving pain, cover it over,
quick fix
14Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Avoidance and denial are attempts to relive the
unpleasantness of conflict, but are also ways to
aggravate the painfulness by prolonging the
anxiety. - All unhealthy forms of handling conflict have
roots in avoidance or denial, the desire to
restore homeostasis/peace/homeostasis. - We try to restore comfort rather than reach
solutions based on principles and respect.
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16Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Comfort Seekers those who are likely to
deny/avoid conflict - The Idealists conflict is sinful
- The Bystanders passive, fail to act
- The Simplifiers minimize what is happening,
resort to clichés (let bygones be bygones) - The Wounded supersensitive to upset feelings
due to pain in their own lives - The Innocents see/hear/speak no evil
- The Power Brokers fear losing their influential
position and play it safe - At Risk anyone who stands to lose something (a
job, friends, influence, etc.)
17Discussion
- Which kind of comfort seeker do you see in your
congregations? - Which kind of comfort seeker might you tend to
resemble?
18Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- In addition to denial, two other common ways to
manage conflict are Scapegoating and
Quick-fixing. - To reduce anxiety, blame is laid on the most
visible and/or vulnerable. (Often the minster or
president.) - Impatient and/or immature people demand immediate
relief with a quick-fix, even though the action
does not really fix anything.
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20Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Emotional triangulation- another way we deal with
conflict. - When two parties are in conflict and cannot
resolve it, one of them will bring in a third
party - We form healthy (and unhealthy) triangles all of
the time. - In a situation of anxiety, triangles detour
anxiety but will not solve the original problem. - Anxiety not addressed in one relationship is
pushed onto another relationship. - Interlocking triangles may then form.
21Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Secrecy increases when conflict expands (deceit,
cover up, lies, shrouded truth, clandestine
gatherings, etc.) - divides a group into insiders and outsiders
- distorts perceptions
- exacerbates other unhealthy processes, keeping
anxiety at peak levels - gives the message that the problem cannot be
handled - locks in pain
- blocks change and challenge
22Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Congregations needs a sense of coherence to
handle conflict successfully. - Studies by Aaron Antonovsky show that a sense of
coherence results from - Meaningfulness-overall sense of purpose that
enables folk to make commitments, get involved,
and shape destiny (mission) - Comprehensibility-making cognitive sense of what
is happening, objectivity, clarity that allows
for hope - Manageability-confidence in ability to deal with
life, belief in ability to control and influence
events, no victims allowed
23Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- A solid sense of coherence leads to
- A more positive appraisal of the situation.
- An effective plan to handle the situation
- An increase in confidence that there are
resources to deal with the situation. - Ability to handle anxiety, stress and conflict.
24Conflict and Healthy Congregations
- Healthy churches respond to change and problems
with resiliency, flexibility. - They allow for change and control reactions to
anxiety and stress with insight, reflectiveness
and objectivity. - They analyze, evaluate calmly and develop
effective responses to acute anxiety. - The leaders help the people reason through
differences.
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26Discussion
- Behavioral covenants do not stop conflict, but
can help avoid the pitfalls of denial, secrecy,
triangulation, quick-fix and scapegoating. - Covenants may help shorten the time spent in
conflict with processes that urge folk to engage
in healthy discussion of differences. - Look at the model covenants and discuss the
questions at the end.
27Forgiveness
- Forgiveness is taking seriously the awfulness of
what has happened when you are treated unfairly,
it is opening the door for the other person to
have a chance to begin again. Without
forgiveness, resentment builds in us, a
resentment which turns into hostility and anger.
Hatred eats away at our well-being. - Desmond Tutu
28Forgiveness
- Recent studies show that forgiveness increases
health and lowers stress on the one doing the
forgiving. - Forgiveness is an act of release or removal or
letting go. - Forgiveness is an act of hope for the future.
- It is moving toward others without reacting
emotionally in the same old way.
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30Forgivness
- Living in Systems, we are emotionally connected
to one another. - Forgiveness is a not a private matter. A
conflict between persons impacts the community as
well as the individuals. - Forgiveness takes one. Reconciliation takes two.
Forgiveness may be extended and rejected.
Reconciliation requires mutual interest in
restoring a relationship. - Undifferentiated people have a harder time
achieving reconciliation.
31Discussion
- Fill out the Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Check-up. See how you score. - In what ways will relationships improve or heal
if forgiveness is extended and received? What
will be different? - Can congregations be healthy if grudges and
resentments prevail?
32Truthtelling
- Deception arouses suspicious. Lying damages
relationships. Without truth, trust between
people is tenuous. Without trust, anxiety rises.
When anxiety intensifies, objectivity, clarity,
and discernment diminish. Truthtelling sheds
light. - Peter Steinke
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34Truthtelling
- Truthtelling is not just about fibs, white lies
and spin. Its about secret meetings, managed
news, denial of bad news and suppression of
reality. - Half-truths or shaded truths can be as
destructive to community life as no truth. - It is difficult to confront hidden complaining.
- Some leaders try to stifle bad news, which
increases fear and anxiety. - Better to name the problem and their resolve to
deal with it as part of creating sense of
coherence
35Truthtelling
- Review Secrets (deceit, denial, lies,
clandestine gatherings, etc.) - divides a group into insiders and outsiders
- distorts perceptions
- exacerbates other unhealthy processes, keeping
anxiety at peak levels - gives the message that the problem cannot be
handled - locks in pain
- blocks change and challenge
36Truthtelling
- What conditions make it difficult for a
congregation to confront its secrets? - Rigid hierarchies
- Silence as a normal strategy
- Group loyalty above all else
- Fear of losses if the truth is known
- Happy face culture, one big happy family
- Leaders stonewall when mistakes are made
- Attitude of lets just move on
- Collective denial to protect someone
- Attitude that truth wont make a difference
- Past history of shunning truthtellers
- Others???
37Discussion
- Is lying more prevalent today as some assert?
- Is lying driven by poor values or high anxiety?
- What issue is difficult to talk about in your
congregation? Why? - Does the truth set you free? What happens?
38Connecting
- A congregation is a network of connections.
- Peter Steinke
39Connecting
- Systems theory teaches us that the fundamental
essence of life is relationship. - The separate self, the individual, must learn to
relate to others in a healthy way. - We learn to relate through
- playing,
- touching,
- mirroring
- and nurturing.
40Connecting
- Play connects people. If we can not connect
through relaxation, spontaneity and letting go,
then we use hostility and dead seriousness. - Touch indicates support, care and comfort. We
stay in touch verbally and physically. - Our faces are mirrors to others. Mirroring shows
how we regard others. We show who doesnt count
and who is valued. - Nurturing connects us at a basic level. One of
our fundamental ways of nurturing is with food.
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42Discussion
- What connects people in your congregation?
- How does your congregational play?
- How well does it touch?
- What does your congregation mirror to others? To
visitors? To the community? - How well does your congregation feed one another
in terms of food for the body and food for the
spirit?
43Healthy Helping
- In healthy congregations, care is freely given
as a response of gratitude for the care first
given us. But care is neither mindless nor
boundaryless. - Peter Steinke
- Healthy Helping Test Do those served grow as
persons? Do they, while being served, become
healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more
likely themselves to become servants? - Robert Greenleaf, Servant Leadership
44Video small groups
- How much responsibility does Mary have for Sue?
- How is it possible to get Sue to take
responsibility for herself? - How do you balance self-sacrifice with taking
care of self? - How can one put space into a relationship without
cutting off from others? - How do you distinguish intimacy from dependency?
45Healthy Helping
- Unhealthy helping (fixing and rescuing)develops
when balance is lost in the relationship. Each
side over-functions-helpers need to be needed
those helped come to see self as victim. - Unhealthy helping develops when the leadership of
a congregation adapts to the weakest members.
The result is a weakening of the whole
congregation. - Healthy leaders focus on goals, direction,
mission, not the neediest voices. (Remember virus
discussion)
46Healthy Helping
- Caring helpers need to be able to regulate their
own anxiety, even their anxiety about the pain of
others. - Need to know where the line lies between helping
others and enabling others to remain needy. - Helping others requires good sense as well as
loving care.
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48Discussion
- If we have time, read the fable of The Bridge.
- In what ways has your congregation adapted to its
weakest members? - In what ways has your congregation NOT adapted to
its weakest members? - Could the leadership of a congregation find
itself in the same position as Mary? How would
they get into this position? How could they avoid
it?
49Healthy Relationship Statements
- Working toward my own emotional calm and
intellectual objectivity enables me to think more
clearly and thus speak and act more
constructively as well as providing a tangible
contribution to the emotional climate of
relationships. - It is not necessary for me to take on the
emotions of people around me. I have a choice. - If I can remember to look for the anxiety behind
the boundary intrusions of others, I can be less
reactive, managing myself better around others.
50Healthy Relationship Statements
- Staying in contact, maintaining one-to-one
relationships with the individuals in my systems
is important for me it provides a sense of
groundedness I have in no other way. - I am at my best in relationships when I can
observe myself in a relationship pattern and
change my part in it without expectations of the
other.
51Next Session
- Healthy Congregations Develop Generous People
- How do we developing a culture of generosity of
- time,
- talent
- and treasure?
52Thank you for being here!
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54Healthy Congregations Part 4
Rev. Joan Van Becelaere Ohio-Meadville District
55Overview
- Today, well look at how Healthy Congregations
Develop Generous People - A Culture of Generosity includes our stewardship
of - time,
- talent
- and treasure
- Well discuss the power of language talk about
money and why people give - Well look at how we nurture volunteers
- The connections between health, holiness, and
hospitality.
56Interdependence
- Life is about relationships. Nothing is itself
without everything else. A cell is a togetherness
of organelles. Tissue is a community of cells. A
body is a galaxy of tissues. As the body, so the
body politic we are bound up with one
another. As theologian Larry Rasmussen says
All the createds are relateds. - Peter Steinke
57Interdependence
- We live in a unified world. Everything interacts,
influences and interrelates. - Physicist David Bohm talks about the traditional
virus of fragmentation in our society that rose
from the Newtonian world view. - Quantum physics shows that the world is
interactive with overlapping patterns of energy
where parts are always defined by their
relationship with other parts.
58Interdependence
- But congregations were built on the Newtonian
Model in pieces outreach, workshop,
stewardship, education, pastoral care, etc. - Often, more attention is given to personal
morality over social ethics. (inner vs outer) - Congregations focus on the ministry of the
individual clergy rather than consider the
ministry of the lay folk, the ministry of the
whole congregation and whether or not it is
effective.
59Interdependence
- Healthy congregations need to learn to see their
life in terms of wholeness, integration,
connections. - Researchers note that a cosmic feeling of
oneness with the universe, identification with
the species, active compassion for a commonwealth
of beings, foster altruism and faith that sees
beyond self-interest. (a spirit of generosity.)
60Interdependence
- Some theologians are rediscovering the
relatedness and interdependence of all things. - Larry Rasmussen Nothing is itself without
everything else. - Danah Zohar Everything is created out of
relatedness, sustained through relationships, and
thrives in interdependence. - Matthew Fox The effort at community is an
effort to imitate the universe.
61Interdependence
- Desmond Tutu Unlike westerners, Africans have a
synthesizing mind set, as opposed to the
occidental analytic one. That doesnt mean
Africans are better or worse it just says God is
smart. Westerners have analysis. We have
synthesis. Westerners have a very strong sense of
individualism. We have a strong sense of
community.
62Interdependence
- Walter Brueggeman The concept of covenant
implies a shared life. The ongoing process of
life is coming to terms with people who are
other than us and to practice mutuality with
them. This is the essence of covenanting.
63Discussion
- Look at the list of Newtonian and Quantum World
characteristics. How is your congregation
Newtonian? How is it Quantum-like? - As Unitarian Universalists who honor our 7th
Principle, how can we foster a Quantum,
Interdependent World View in our congregations?
64Stewardship
- Stewardship is a way of life. It is a framework
for living. Everyone is a steward. But each one
has been given different gifts, resources,
valuables, properties, and assets to oversee.
Each one participates by contributing what one
has to the benefit of the whole. - Peter Steinke
65Economic Leadership
66Discussion
- List 10 words you associate with the word
stewardship.
67Stewardship
- Steward comes from the Old English words Stig
(house) and Weard (keeper). - One who cares for the life of the household
members. - In the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, a steward
is a - provider,
- decisions maker,
- administrator,
- foreman,
- servant,
- a keeper of something belonging to another.
68Stewardship
- European history a steward was one who guarded a
kingdom while those in charge were away or
governed for an underage king. - Shared responsibility-Spanish translation.
- Stewardship managing ALL aspects of shared
responsibility, not just money. - Modern definition of stewardship a sharing,
generous, accountable way of life. A full partner
in the life of the congregation. - All members of a congregation are stewards and
mutually responsible for our shared life.
69Stewardship
- Self-Differentiation is a form of stewardship.
- The first thing we learn to manage in mutual
responsibility is ourselves. - Responsible for our own balance between
separation and closeness forces. - Responsible managers of self in relation to
others neither too dependent on others nor too
distant from them. - Responsible for our ability to deal with our
anxiety and the anxiety and reactivity of others.
70Discussion
- Review handout on Differentiated Functioning.
It lists traits of those focused on separation
and those focused on closeness. In the middle
is the balance of self-differentiation. - A self-differentiated person is a responsive
person. How would a self-differentiated person
approach stewardship? - What is your mental model of a steward or
stewardship now?
71Money Talks
- Please share with me your checkbook, your credit
cards and your tax forms, then Ill understand
your faith and your view of stewardship. But
money is rarely discussed in the church and
related to faith. People go to great lengths to
avoid talking about moneyJesus talks about money
almost as much as anything else. He knew how it
affected peoples lives and how they approach
God. We say that money talks, but can we talk
about money. -
- Peter Steinke
72Small Groups
- Read the handout titled Factoids.
- What 3 conclusions can you draw from the list?
- What strategies or approaches would you use to
address these conclusions?
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74Money Talks
- Memes beliefs, ways of doing things, stories,
theories, language and other forms of
information. - Like genes, memes replicate they are copied and
passed on and imitated. - What are our memes related to money? Scarcity?
Abundance? Evil? Measure of success? A means to
an end? ?????????????
75Video
- In the video, five different memes are seen.
- In your small group, how would you describe each
of the five views or memes of these people? - Cody (age 42) Melissa (40)
- Audrey (38)
- Rick (28)
- Slade (58)
- David (65)
76Video
- Peter Steinke notes five different reasons or
motives for giving - Fear, guilt, grief, anxiety
- Sense of obligation to a special group, an
affiliative necessity - Sense of fairness, justice
- Self-aggrandizement, self-promotion
- Gratitude, faith, love
- Which of these reasons are found in the lives of
the people in the video?
77Money Talks
- More reasons we give found by UUA Stewardship
Consultants - Out of a sense of gratitude for all that we have
in life. - To add meaning to our lives.
- Because we believe in the organizations mission
and want to be a real part of it. - Because we like to help people.
- In response to people we trust.
- Because someone asks!
- Other reasons?????
78Money Talks
- Myths about Stewardship in Anxious Times
- People in low-income households dont give money.
Low-income people give time instead. - During economic downturns, people dont give to
their congregations. - People suffer information overload and dont care
to know how their money is being used. - If people understand the dire financial straits
of the congregation, they will feel guilty and
give more.
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80Money and Anxiety
- The word misery comes from the word miser.
To hold onto everything you have is to invite
unhappiness. Hoarding isnt obviously healthy. To
give freely isnt always easy. Giving arouses
emotional effects. One worries about security,
self-preservationEmotionality greatly affects
the motivation and conditions under which people
withhold or give their money. - Peter Steinke
81Money and Anxiety
- We all experience anxiety, especially if
triggered by survival concerns. - Three parts of the brain have specialized
functions - Amygdala Survival Processes Reptilian
- Limbic System Emotional Responses Mammalian
- Cerebral Hemispheres Conscious rational thought
- Neocortex
82Money and Anxiety
- If anxiety is intense, we move to a reptilian
response, self-preservation. - The mammalian brain interprets whether something
is painful or pleasurable. - The thinking brain has the potential to regulate
the mammalian and reptilian brains. - If we are intensely anxious the lower brains can
overwhelm the thinking brain. - Certain issues, triggers, can bring out emotional
reactions - Money is a major trigger of anxiety.
83Discussion
- What role did money have in your childhood? That
attitude did your parents have toward money? - What was your attitude toward money as an adult?
Has this attitude been changing? - Do you give away a proportion of your money? How
do you feel about this? - Do you feel anxious when talking about money?
What do you think triggers the anxiety?
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85Money and Anxiety
- Unfortunately, anxiety about money is often fed
by anxious congregations. - Anxious congregations tend to talk about
membership in terms of receiving, not giving.
(does the Sunday service entertain, does it meet
our needs, what can it give us to bring us back) - Theologian Shirley Guthrie says that anxious
congregations see their purpose is to meet our
needs, solve our problems, answer our questions,
give us whatever we happen to want most. - Anxious congregations dont ask us to do the hard
work of supporting a larger mission, or covenant
with one another to create beloved community.
86Discussion
- Review the Best Practices from the UUA
Stewardship Consultants group. - Which items seems most appealing?
- Which seem problematic to you?
- Which items do you think will resonate with your
congregations members? - Which would cause anxiety? Why?
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88People are Resources
- Stewardship includes ones responsibility for
every aspect of individual and community life. It
is managing every gift one has to offer.
Individual gifts are resources for the well-being
of allHuman nature is communal and
interdependent. We are created to share our
gifts, resources, and selves with others. - Peter Steinke
89People are Resources
- In most churches the laity belongs chiefly to
the audience and is engaged in what we call
church housekeeping. Unfortunately, the
laypersons own congregation may have given
her/him this limited image of her/himself. - Oscar Feucht, Everyone a Minister
90People are Resources
- We know that many people give volunteer out of
a sense of gratitude for all that they have in
life. - Grace, Gratitude and Gladness are related. They
come from the same family of words in Greek
Charis (grace), Eucharistia (thanksgiving), and
Chara (joy). - Cicero said Gratitude is not only the greatest
of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
91Discussion
- Do you agree or disagree
- Faith shares a larger agenda than prompting
ones own private world. Faith engages ones idea
that my wealth and talent are gifts of which I am
a steward. Life in covenant advances a bond of
care for others. - Adapted from Peter Steinke
- After reading the list of effects of gratitude,
which do you think are the most important?
92People are Resources
- Research also shows that those committed to
serving others or their communities share many
general traits - Were seen, accepted and respected when a child
- Had at least one publicly active parent
- Grew up in a home that was hospitable to the
outside world - Lived in a safe, diverse neighborhood
- Had contact with committed adults
- Participated then and now in religious activities
- Engaged in youth groups
- Use mentors for personal growth
93People are Resources
- The concept of compassion is centered on the
awareness of the interdependence of all living
things, which are all part of one another and all
participate in one another. - Hasidic story about Rabbi Rupchitz
- Spouse Your prayer was lengthy today. Have you
succeeded in bringing it about that the rich
should be more generous in their gifts to the
poor? - Rabbi Half of my prayer I have accomplished. The
poor are willing to accept them.
94Discussion
- Look at the Giving Tree handout.
- Fill out the roots and branches and instructed.
- Share what you learned with your table.
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96People are Resources
- We find 3 levels of mutual responsibility/stewards
hip in our congregations. - STANDARD VOLUNTEER JOBS
- Duties, time and skills clearly defined
- Very specific tasks what needs to be done and
when - MORE RESPONSIBLE VOLUNTEER JOBS
- Task is generally spelled out.
- Time and skills required are defined.
- Lines of accountability are indicated.
- MOST RESPONSIBLE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS - LEADERS
- Broad areas of responsibility and authority.
- Has responsibility, not specific detailed tasks.
- Able to negotiate time and personnel needs.
- Skills and abilities required are defined.
- Room for initiative and creativity in carrying
out the responsibility.
97People are Resources
- Asking makes all of the difference in creating an
environment where volunteers are generous with
their time and talent. - How do we ask?
- Face to face
- Personal letter
- Nominating or Leadership Development or Human
Resource Committee - Volunteer coordinator
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99People are Resources
- Check List for Asking for Volunteers
- Review the description of the task or position
- Have a written description to give.
- List where and how to identify person(s) to help
with the task. - Decide how to ask
- Describe the plan for ongoing support
- How will the task or volunteer be evaluated?
What constitutes success? - Recognition and reward?
100Discussion
- How does our congregation find invite people to
participate and be generous with their time and
talent? - How do we remove blockages to their
participation? - How do we currently empower, support and mentor
volunteers and new leaders? - How can we strengthen our support of volunteers
and leaders?
101Health and Holiness
- Everything secular is potentially holy, (that
is) open to consecration. - Paul Tillich
- One of the most telling questions that can be
asked about a persons spirituality is, what is
its understanding of holiness. - Matthew Fox
102Health and Holiness
- What do you think of the connection that Steinke
makes between health and holiness? - CS Lewis said that every person you meet is a
potential god or goddess. How does this make a
difference in the way we relate to others?
103Health, Holiness Hospitality
- Holiness is expressed in hospitality.
- Hospitality is a form of spiritual care.
- Hospitality comes from the word meaning host or
hostess. Showing hospitality is welcoming others,
letting them be guests, offering them space, and
providing them with services. - We become hosts because we have been hosted.
- Peter Steinke
- There is no holiness but social holiness.
- John Wesley
104Health, Holiness Hospitality
- Hospitality is a relational concept.
- People are to be welcomed as they are, not
changed or fused. They dont have to be like us
to be welcomed. (or fry potatoes like us) - Differences are always possible threats. We tend
to keep strangers at a safe distance. - We tend to avoid others who are not like us.
- Sameness becomes safety.
- The other who is different is a threat.
- But we need strangers for new energy, new
perspectives.
105Health, Holiness Hospitality
- Self-differentiated people realize that the
stranger is not hostile, differences are not to
be feared but welcomed. - Healthy spirituality and hospitality is a venture
into the unknown, into mystery, away from what is
secure and habitual and safe. - We cannot live meaningful lives in isolation.
Meaning is always communal. Ted Peters
106Discussion
- Read What is the congregations HQ?
- Note on the form what is essential to being
hospitable. - What is your congregations Hospitality
Quotient? - How do each of the Eight Strengths of
Congregations relate to hospitality?
107Health and Spirituality
- What is a spiritual activity?
- Praying (91)
- Attending Sunday service (81)
- Parenting (80)
- Walk in the woods (67)
- Making love (52)
- Cleaning house (29) (cleanliness next to
godliness?) - Hospitality?
- Generosity?
108Health and Spirituality
- A self is always a self in-relation. The
process of interaction is the absolute Truth of
life. - Healthy spirituality means coming to terms with
the other in ways that are neither
overwhelmingly submissive nor resistant. - Shalom means health, wholeness and peace. A
balance where all parts of creation are
interrelated and all are working together for
balance and wholeness.
109Health and Spirituality
- Health is a continuous process, the ongoing
interplay of multiple forces and conditionsthe
various members and subsystems of a congregation
interweave, much as do the organs of the human
body with the ongoing interaction of cells, blood
flow, nerve endings, energy sources and waste
products. - Peter Steinke
- A Healthy Congregation is??????
110Resources
- Visit the UUA website www.uua.org and Google
search Giving and Generosity and
Congregational Stewardship Services. - Congregations can use UUA marketing materials and
resources www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/mar
keting/congregational/index.shtml - OMD Website now contains a lot of material about
stewardship and money and economics.
http//www.ohiomeadville.org/ - economy/index.html
111Resources
- Beyond Fundraising A Complete Guide to
Congregational Stewardship, by Wayne B. Clark,
2007, UUA. This book outlines the Forward
Through the Ages (FORTH) program of year-round
congregational stewardship. - The Abundance of Our Faith, edited by Terry
Sweetser and Susan Milnor. Inspirational sermons
and reflection questions for small group
stewardship conversations and worship planning.
112Thank You For Coming!!!!!!