First
Church is entering a time of transition. Change is coming. How can we
use this time to optimally fulfill our mission as a community of God’s
people serving each other in the world? With each decision, big and
small, we must ask ourselves, “What would God have us do?” An important
part of answering that question is for us to discern God’s vision for
First Church - what are our strengths as a church, what are the needs
of our community and how can we align these.
Cabinet appointed an envisioning committee to lead the church in
answering these questions. With the help of Rev Paul Nickerson, we
held three church meetings. All who consider First Church their
spiritual home were welcomed to attend. Each meeting answered a
different question: What’s our church’s history? What do we value? What
are our growth areas?
We held three congregational meetings and most recently distributed a survey for everyone to complete. In November 2007 we presented our final report. At that time the committee had completed their task and disbanded.
At the January Cabinet meeting, cabinet named theme champions for the five areas the Envisioning Committee suggested we focus on: Julie Braschler for "Increase Participation in Church Life"; Deacons for "Enhance and Diversify Worship and Music Programs"; John Guetersloh for "Examine Staffing Needs"; Peter Gerrish for "Maintain Focus of our Vision" and the theme champion for "Develop First Church presence in Community and World" is still to be filled.
Members of the Envisioning Committee were: John Bridgeman, John Caban, Peter Gerrish, John Guetersloh, Kevin Kelly, Brett Leida, Allyson Printz, Alison Weaver, and Fred Webb.
