What Shall We Do in 2011?

For the past few months Providence has been involved in a process to update our structure, how we do things. It took a lot of time and energy and attention from a lot of people--our Long Range Planning Committee, a Restructuring Committee, a By-laws revision Committee, our Coordinating Council, and finally the whole congregation. In the end we have devised a process that places a priority for our whole church to work towards for the coming year.

In the future, this process will be drawn out a bit more, with more time for congregational discussion. But this year, it is a bit compressed. The Coordinating Council spent some time in May discussing what they see as the top priorities for our congregation. Then in June we had several discussions on Wednesday and Sundays. The amazing thing is that pretty much the same priorities kept reappearing.

And so the Coordinating Council voted last week to propose the following priorities to our congregation as our goals for 2011.

1. Congregational Care. We want to strengthen we way we care for members in our congregation. How can we increase our awareness of each other, care for one another, invite more participation from members? We want Providence to be the loving community we strive to become.
2. Outreach. We believe that Providence is a wonderful, unique voice in our community and world, but what can we do to invite others to be a part? We will look for programs and opportunities that will meet the needs of our community and invite them to be a part of what we are seeing to do with God.
3. Children. When we celebrate Baby Dedications we remind ourselves that our children "belong to us"--all of us. In 2011 we will focus on opportunities to remind them and us of that responsibility. How can we help our children grow "in wisdom, stature and favor with God and others?"

In addition, our Ministry Coordination Council will be tasked with the responsibility of exploring our future land and building needs/obligations. What do we do with the opportunity for additional land? How can we finish the 2nd floor of the Education Building?

So what does this mean? On July 11 we will vote on these priorities for 2011. If approved, then the various committees/groups will use these in their planning. For example, what can the Worship Committee do to invite others to Providence? How can we make worship a better experience for our children? Each committee (soon to be groups) will ask those questions as they make their plans.

Of course there will be some things that will happen even if they don't fit under the priorities, for example we do hope that the lights will continue to shine! But as we move forward, these priorities will be what we will be working towards as a congregation. All of us we will see how we can care for one another, how we can invite others to join with us in this great adventure, how we can be a welcoming and caring place for children.

If you have any questions about these priorities, or how they will shape our ministry in 2011 please contact Don or Leigh Burke.