Remember how much you loved “coffee hour?” It was so great for connection, conversation AND brainstorming ways to be the church! A couple of weeks ago a few of our ministry folk realized that we have been missing that aspect of church and decided for a whole bunch of really good reasons to try to reconnect through faith, food and fellowship.I have been a member at Sanctuary for a year now. Although I know a lot of peoples names, I feel that I don’t know many people well. The idea of fellowship has been on my heart for a while then something wonderful happened at the Art Gallery Team meeting in February. Susan D’Arcy Fuller told us that Joy Harris had asked her to meet with the Lakota Youth (when they are here this summer) to teach then about digital photography and photo journalism to help them ‘photo-journal’ their visits to Boston. We were all excited by the connection between the ministry of Lakota YouthStay Program and the Arts and Inspiration Ministry. The conversation swirled around the table and the next thing we knew we developed a plan to turn the digital photography of the Lakota Youth into our August Art Gallery installation. The idea connects our ministries with the gifts of our people and our call to do justice with being sanctuary, it tells the story of one of our circles-of-care ministries through ARTChurch – and it is just awesome! It would have never happened if people were not in a room together sharing their passion and purpose. These two ‘ahas’ lead me to draft a proposal for a 4th Sunday Fellowship where we might meet, eat and share who we are and what we spend our time doing. I INVITE all of you to come have breakfast and be Sanctuary, our first meeting will be Sunday, March 26 at 10 am. Love, Joanna
The Leadership Circle invites you to gather on 4th Sundays at 10 am for:
- pot-luck breakfast;
- easy-going fellowship;
- fun, getting-to-know-each-other activity; and
- a time to share what and how we are being the church!
Each month we will the story of one of our members/friends and one or two of our ministries and from that – be in conversation about what’s upcoming for being sanctuary.
We are planning to do this monthly and expect that it will be a place to grow relationships and connections, build creativity and ministry, and be a place where we will discover what God is calling forth as we seek to be sanctuary for others.
Mark your calendar and bring a friend for each 4th Sunday at 10 am at Sanctuary UCC – 458 High Street, Medford, MA 02155
Here are some additional reasons why the Leadership Circle agreed this was a great idea:
- “Show and Tell” – People will be able to see just how much we do at Sanctuary;
- Holds Teams/Circles/Planners accountable to give updates and make progress;
- Allows people to get to know each other better and have conversations (fellowship);
- Would provide a regular place for folk to “sign-up” for service and it gets people excited to be involved (discipleship);
- We need a space to bounce ideas off each other and create overlap between different circles and events (networking);
- Provides consistent presence at Sanctuary during Sunday worship time for guests and drop-ins (hospitality);
- It is easier to invite people to breakfast (and to mission/service opportunities) than than to a typical Sunday Service;
- A chance for laity to grow and lead (staff does not need to be there, leaving them open for dinner church);
- Informal yet structured; there could be space for kids;
- Engagement without being a member – non members can contribute and have huge impact.
