Wapping Community Church ONA Working Group
Meeting notes of August 24, 2015
The August 24, 2015 meeting of the Open and Affirming Working Group was opened at 7:07 p.m. by Charlene Swietek. Matt Desy offered a prayer. Present at the meeting were Charlene Swietek, Matt Desy, Erik Ribera, Jason, St. Denis, Peter Delaney, Donna Williams, and Ann Drake.
The reading of the responses from the publication “Taking a New Look” was postponed until the next meeting. Charlene discussed some of the materials collected by the Reverend Chris Davies at the recent UCC Synod.
The group agreed on a statement of purpose that will guide future meetings of the group:
We will work together to discern how the congregation desires to live into our statement that “all are welcome here” at Wapping Community Church.
We will listen fully to each person, considering carefully and confidentially all thoughts, comments, concerns, and questions as we move through the Open and Affirming process.
We will move to Open and Affirming only if and when we are ready to do so as a congregation.
Steps we will follow in our process of exploration were identified. Those steps are information, education, and communication.
Informational vehicles include the website, Parish Post, the monthly bulletin, and a bulletin board. Charlene will post the statement of purpose and the dates of the next meetings (usually the first Monday of the month) on the website this week. Matt will prepare the insert for next Sunday’s bulletin, including the statement of purpose, an open invitation to working group meetings, and dates of coming meetings (usually on the first Monday of the month). A pertinent fact selected from UCC publications will also be included. Matt will ask Christine to insert the same information in the next edition of the Parish Post. For the rest of September and for succeeding months, the bulletin will contain an informational insert for the first two weeks of the month, and an announcement including the information for the third, fourth (and fifth, if needed) weeks.
Educational steps will include contacting the ministers to discuss possible dates for Bible study this fall and a request for a short description in Parish Post. Charlene will coordinate this.
Possible steps for the communication of concerns and questions continue to be discussed.
Feedback from a member was shared. One expressed concern was the timing of the ONA effort because of current church budgetary issues. A second question involved the way the ONA exploration might “fit in” to the reorganized church structure of boards and committees. We will contact Larry Brown to discuss this, and Ann will contact the member to share the steps taken to follow up on these concerns.
The next meeting of the group will be on September 14, due to the Labor Day holiday. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:10 p.m. by Charlene Swietek.
Notes recorded by Ann Drake
Meeting notes of August 24, 2015
The August 24, 2015 meeting of the Open and Affirming Working Group was opened at 7:07 p.m. by Charlene Swietek. Matt Desy offered a prayer. Present at the meeting were Charlene Swietek, Matt Desy, Erik Ribera, Jason, St. Denis, Peter Delaney, Donna Williams, and Ann Drake.
The reading of the responses from the publication “Taking a New Look” was postponed until the next meeting. Charlene discussed some of the materials collected by the Reverend Chris Davies at the recent UCC Synod.
The group agreed on a statement of purpose that will guide future meetings of the group:
We will work together to discern how the congregation desires to live into our statement that “all are welcome here” at Wapping Community Church.
We will listen fully to each person, considering carefully and confidentially all thoughts, comments, concerns, and questions as we move through the Open and Affirming process.
We will move to Open and Affirming only if and when we are ready to do so as a congregation.
Steps we will follow in our process of exploration were identified. Those steps are information, education, and communication.
Informational vehicles include the website, Parish Post, the monthly bulletin, and a bulletin board. Charlene will post the statement of purpose and the dates of the next meetings (usually the first Monday of the month) on the website this week. Matt will prepare the insert for next Sunday’s bulletin, including the statement of purpose, an open invitation to working group meetings, and dates of coming meetings (usually on the first Monday of the month). A pertinent fact selected from UCC publications will also be included. Matt will ask Christine to insert the same information in the next edition of the Parish Post. For the rest of September and for succeeding months, the bulletin will contain an informational insert for the first two weeks of the month, and an announcement including the information for the third, fourth (and fifth, if needed) weeks.
Educational steps will include contacting the ministers to discuss possible dates for Bible study this fall and a request for a short description in Parish Post. Charlene will coordinate this.
Possible steps for the communication of concerns and questions continue to be discussed.
Feedback from a member was shared. One expressed concern was the timing of the ONA effort because of current church budgetary issues. A second question involved the way the ONA exploration might “fit in” to the reorganized church structure of boards and committees. We will contact Larry Brown to discuss this, and Ann will contact the member to share the steps taken to follow up on these concerns.
The next meeting of the group will be on September 14, due to the Labor Day holiday. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:10 p.m. by Charlene Swietek.
Notes recorded by Ann Drake