We are hosting the Living the Resurrection cohorts from across Pacifica Synod on SATURDAY, April 9th, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the Chapel. The Living the Resurrection Team of Mary Erlenborn, Jerry Albert and Pastor Karla attended the introductory session in February and have been busy talking to the council about the dynamics of our congregation. We were assigned these 10 questions to discuss:

1. Does your congregation have a mission statement?

a. If so…
i. How did it come to exist?
ii. Is it shared widely?
iii. How does the congregation live into this statement?

(our answer was ‘yes’ so we did not have to go into the ‘if not’ questions.

2. In your own words, what is your congregation’s purpose?

3. What makes you feel hopeful about our congregation’s future?

4. On a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, respond to the following:

a. How willing are you to try new things?
b. How willing do you think the congregation is to try new things?
i. What story from the life of the congregation influenced your response to this question?

5. How does your congregation help members build strong relationships with one another?

6. What is this congregation’s typical reaction to conflict?

7. Which letter ( A, B or C) best describes our congregation’s relationship with the people who live in the neighborhoods around the church building.

A. We don’t know our neighbors.
B. We serve our neighbors.
C. We love our neighbors.

8. Explain a bit about your answer to question 7.

9. What obstacles do you see to our congregation’s full participation in Living the Resurrection?

10. What gifts or assets do you see in our congregation that will help us participate fully in Living the Resurrection?

We have also begun individual interviews with council members. When we meet on the 9th, we will be led through a process toward discovering what these conversations have to tell us about our congregation and how God might be preparing us for our next chapter. WHY AM I TELLING YOU ABOUT THIS? Because I want you to know what we are thinking about; because I want you to think about these questions and the answers to them too (not just the council members); AND because I want you to pray for us, for our congregation and for how God might use us for good as we live the resurrection life.