The Emerging Unified Church of
Carlisle
Overview of Open Congregational
Meeting
September 23, 2012
On Sunday, September 23, 2012,
the Transition Team conducted its first of three scheduled fall Open
Congregational Meetings at the First Campus.
It was attended by thirty-eight persons which included twelve of
seventeen Transition Team members.
Pastor Jim served as the facilitator/moderator and opened the meeting
promptly at 5 pm with a prayer.
During the first half of the
meeting, Pastor Jim responded to some of the most frequently asked questions
which he and the pastoral team had fielded during the recently conducted “Meet
the Pastors” sessions. He told the assembled that there are no models or
instruction sheets for us to follow and that “the will of God is like a scroll
which gets unwound one line at a time.” Imagine is the guiding document for us
particularly its Vision (Serve, Grow, Connect and Worship) which forms four of
the fourteen Focus Groups. The vote on
March 4 was to unify. The new church is
people and not a building. There are
some legal issues about which we will have to deal, and we don’t know yet everything
which is to be included in the written Plan of Union. This Plan will be voted on by the
congregations. Ninety-two members are
currently working on the 14 Focus Groups, and Pastor Jim mentioned that Is God Calling You was published to
invite additional people to share their skills and abilities. He mentioned that every effort will be made
to adhere as much as possible to Imagine’s
timeline, but some adjustments may have to be made as we proceed. Lastly,
Pastor Jim outlined a process which will culminate in the naming of our new
church in time for the first service in Advent on December 2. After eight Transition Team members shared
their experiences serving so far, the floor was open for the following
questions and corresponding answers:
1.
If Allison is sold and everybody goes to
Grace, what will happen at First?
Tomorrow evening will be the first meeting of the Transitional Facility
Focus Group.
2.
Could money from the sale of Allison be
placed in escrow and then used for parking at Grace? Only by the vote of the new congregation.
3.
If there will be less staff members,
will present people have to audition for the new positions? The administrative structure of the new
church will make that decision. I
suspect that once staffing needs have been determined, everyone who is
interested will have to apply.
4.
Will there be absentee ballots available
for the vote on naming the church? Yes,
we will accommodate those who are unable to be present.
5.
What else besides the Plan of Union will
be required by the conference leadership?
We will have to go to the District Board of Church Buildings and
Locations if there is a sale of church buildings.
6.
When we buy land, what is the minimum
requirement for land? Twelve acres.
7.
What conference requirements must we
follow if a decision is made to refurbish Grace? The final amount of money may not exceed a
certain percentage of the value of the property.
8.
Who owns the parsonages? The Board of
Trustees holds the property on behalf of the local conference. If the church
decides to sell a parsonage, do we need the approval of the conference? Yes.
9.
(Comment) As I drive around and see land
available…. That’s why we have a Site Location Focus Group to pay attention to
what is going on. We need to be
constantly monitoring what is going on; we need to look at partnering with
non-church groups. This led to a discussion about parking at Grace. Pastor Jim
indicated that Grace’s bus may have to be used.
He knows that it’s just not parking but also the inability to walk
certain distances and the inability to parallel park. It will be on us to
create parking. An attendee mentioned the existence of steps.
10. (Comment)
An attendee complimented the pastoral leadership and volunteer team for doing a
great job of putting “your hand on the rudder.”
11. (To
Pastor Jim) What scares you the most in the next three months? In the immediate
future, I am concerned that some people may decide that they don’t want to go
on the rest of the journey. People won’t
hang in there. Long term, I worry that
we will settle into the same patterns which we have been following. The church
exits to fulfill the mission. We will
need to begin to think of our leaders in a different way.
Future
Congregational Meetings: Sunday, October
28, 3 to 5 pm at Otterbein U.M.C. and
Sunday, November 18, 5 to 6 pm at Allison.
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