CONGREGATION + COMMUNITY NEWS
PEOPLES PRESS
Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World
a congregation of the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists & the American Baptist Churches
“Jesus left the house and sat down by the lake shore. Such great crowds gathered that he went and took a seat in a boat, while the crowd stood along the shore. He addressed them at length in parables.” (Matthew 13:1-3a, The Inclusive Bible)
A few years back, I attended a church meeting. The planners of the event had decided that relationships would be the focus and wanted to make sure that each person present would be given the opportunity to meet everyone there. So while we were gathered in the sanctuary, they had us form a large circle. Then they had one person step into the enclosed space and begin shaking peoples’ hands, moving around the circle as they went, followed by each person in turn. The intent was that in a very short time, everyone would have met everyone.
Ten minutes were allowed for this exercise. After fifteen minutes we were encouraged to pick up the pace. After 20 minutes, we were told to limit our conversation to one phrase. After half an hour, they called it to a halt. What the planners had neglected to take into account (besides the fact that church people like to talk!) was that in a large group, there are many opportunities for relationships, and that complicates anything you try to do. This can be summarized in a mathematical expression that is called “The handshake formula.” N x (N – 1) ÷ 2. If each member of a set interacts with every other member of the set, it tells you how many interactions there will be. So if there were 101 people at my church meeting, then 101 x 100 ÷ 2 = 5,050!
Jesus understood that the larger the crowd got, the more you had to work to keep everybody in the loop. He relocates to a boat on the lake so everyone can hear. He calls 72 people (in addition to the Twelve) to go ahead of him to spread the word and minister to the people. Peoples Church has about a hundred people that we consider to be members, friends, and supporters. That means there are about 5,000 relationships percolating and fizzing in this community of faith. Granted, some of them are stronger than others, and some require more attention than others, but our togetherness is built on an assumption of keeping track of each other and meeting the needs of everyone to be engaged in the work and supportive of our goals. The forces that alternately strengthen and then weaken these relationships are always working among us.
Picture it like a large trampoline or a spider web. If something drops on the trampoline or flies into the spider web, it pushes and pulls the whole thing! The tension is felt in some places more than others, but it affects the whole. The same is true in a congregation. If someone loses a job or faces a serious illness, all of us are affected. If someone gets promoted or wins the lottery, we all reap the benefits, even if it is “only” the joy that spreads among us. That is why opportunities to share that kind of life experience are so important – what we commonly call “fellowship times.” They offer some stretching and exercising for the whole web.
The challenge churches (and groups like them) face is tailoring their programs and policies to the size we find ourselves to be. As congregations grow and shrink, they tend to try to do things “the way we’ve always done it” even if that doesn’t work well anymore. Shrinking churches tend to have more policies and procedures and structure than they need. Growing churches tend to try to make do with “the grape vine” for communication and pastoral care or want to avoid scheduling more than one event for the same time slot. As size changes, different approaches are needed.
In an interim time, it’s important to remember that most clergy have a mid-set for growth. They will look at the church’s profile and the neighborhood’s needs and demographics and envision a thriving ministry that leads to more participants. That will require a re-thinking of the use of space, staffing, programing, and structure. It is a normal dynamic of the entry process. Receive it as a gift that will help generate excitement and momentum moving forward.
And periodically run the handshake formula to remind yourselves of how many relationships need the nurture and healing that this congregation has to offer. They will grow exponentially as people find their spiritual home here. As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, pray that God will send workers to bring it home.”
Amen.
Pastor Dave
just in case you didn’t know…
This graph from Population Connection surprised me. I am a big-time paper recycler - even going through the wastebasket in search of paper! We compost and recycle at our house. I guess we need to up our game! What about you?
Leslie Cummings, for the Creation/Justice Team
GOOD THINGS are HAPPENING in and
AROUND US
Peoples Plaza Needs You! It’s time for the next step in updating our building—painting the exterior trim and lamp posts. We’ve secured a professional contractor. But we are also looking for volunteers to help with tasks such as:
Scrapping old painted surfaces
Prepping old surfaces for painting
Taping off window areas
Scraping windows from new paint install
Prepping lamp posts for painting and priming and painting them.
Prep and clean up paint areas
The only thing we don’t know: the actual date. But it will be this month.
In the meantime, please let us know if you can help. Please call the church office at 810-767-4911 or send an email to info@peopleschurchofflint.org. Also, you can reach out to either Dale Emery or Joe Eufinger.
Search Committee Update, The committee has been working on our church profile to help us find a pastor that will be a good fit and help us on our journey. I use the word journey because we, the congregation of Peoples Church, are finding our way to what is next.
A big part of the profile is looking back, thinking about where Woodside has been. The big risk we took leaving our long-time church home to find ourselves in a rented community space and finding a home here in downtown Flint.
I think our little team has had an opportunity to think about, discuss and feel all the emotions that come along with significant change. Grief, fear, confusion about how to move forward. Working through until we are becoming excited for a new season in our church life. We are learning to believe and trust that the right person will find their way to us and together we will find what is next.
Not everyone can be at the same place on this emotional journey. We want you to know you are not alone. Although we cannot share details about our progress, we are here to support you. Talk to us if you have concerns or just feel like you want to express where you are in this process of letting go and moving toward a new path. I am so glad to be on this journey with you!
Thanks so much!
Dee Johnson, Search Committee Member
Upcoming Affiliate Activities
Informational Links:
Quarterly Council Meeting Environmental Justice is Racial Justice Installation Service or Edgewood UCC, Youtube
join the thursday night book group
IN THE CONGREGATION
Links are on the church calendar. Need more info? Just ask!
Adult Forum, 9:30 am Sundays, is presently in-between books. We will be reading various works of poetry until our next book has been chosen. Join us either in person at church or via Zoom .
Vigil for Racial Justice is still gathering 1-2 pm Thursdays on the Genesee Courthouse lawn.
New Text Alert System. We have shifted to a new text messaging service. If you're in our church directory, you're all set. If you're not, go here to sign up!