On January 14, our Ministry Council met to discuss programs, outreach and congregational goals for the spring.
Community Share-Back: We are excited to invite our Community Grant recipients to speak during worship over the course of the spring. The council recognizes that it is important for the church body to hear from people doing local outreach and organizing in Nashville, especially our grantees.
Room in the Inn: We hope to create a lay-led Room in the Inn team to help recruit Vine Street volunteers, cheer on current volunteers and connect with surrounding neighborhoods to find more people interested in this important ministry. We will start incorporating "share-backs" from our volunteers during the worship service on Sundays so that you all have more personal insight into all that happens on Thursday nights when we host RITI.
Church-Wide Survey: We spent most of our time looking at your responses to the church-wide survey. We noted a few common patterns and spent a lot of time discussing the following questions:
How can we resist the temptation to overprogram in a “too busy” culture and instead plan programming that fits within people’s lifestyles already?
How do we address many people's shared worries about gun control, global violence, racism, and aging?
How do we employ more embodied spiritual practices (prayer, meditation, movement) as opposed to just intellectual ones (Bible study, book study, group discussions)?
How can we continue to be a voice for social justice in the midst of so much political and global unrest?
Thank you to our council members and to you for being a part of this community! Stay tuned for more updates from our council later this Spring.