Schools Constituency Input Summary

Staff, parents, and board members of Trinity Christian Preschool, Trinity Child Development Center and Harbour Pointe Christian Preschool met on Tuesday, May 24 to reflect together on these ministries. 

The Schools' mission is to share God's love by partnering with parents and guardians in the social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cognitive development of their child.  We provide an age appropriate environment that is safe and caring where children are nurture in the love of Christ.

Participants shared stories that illustrated strengths of the schools.

•  Several expressions of care for school families in times of crisis, including connecting to Pastoral Care ministries, highlighted a sense of "family" as well as the value of networking with broader ministries in the congregation.
• Attention to helping new students adjust to the environment made the School feel like "a home away from home."
• Cognitive progress of a student, in spite of family crises, demonstrated the consistent, supportive environment that Schools provide.
• Children being greeted by name and a hug each day they arrive indicates the personal attention given to each student.
• A mother's call to alert staff when her child was injured overseas on vacation shows the depth of love and relationship experienced by children and families.
• Watching children being allowed to work on a project at their own pace, to their own standards shows patience and the willingness to allow children to express themselves freely.
• Connections made to the church through the Schools suggests that they sometimes act as a "front porch," welcoming people into broader congregational involvement.

 As potential improvements to the Schools were discussed, desire was expressed for even stronger direct connections with the congregations, including regular pastoral presence; direct outreach and service opportunities for children; more advertising; increased parent interaction; new "family-friendly" events; and upgraded facilities. 

Some of the dreams that captured most interest included improved playgrounds; new/upgraded facilities; extending more services to those who cannot pay; and creating a full service center to support families needs.

Some insights identied by the those in the group were

• While the two different sites share similar dreams, they are also two separate sites with unique needs--one size does not fit all.
• The relational element of Schools' ministry is critical and we should continue to foster this.  Personal relationship is even more important than school work.
• Amazing to recall the progress from one room 24 years ago at the School's beginning.
• There are so many things we love about the Preschool!

Global Engagment Constituency Input Session Results

A group of people passionate about Global Engagement at Trinity/Pointe of Grace gathered on Monday, May 16 to reflect on possibilities for that ministry area.  There is not currently an organized entity in our community that bears overall coordination for this area.  Many of the expressions of Trinity/Pointe of Grace reaching out beyond our local community exist as individual initiatives that have gained varying degrees of involvement by others in the community.  One of the things that happened at the meeting was that these individuals got connected and will begin to explore the possibility of increasing visibility of global engagement activities by collaborating in new ways.

The group celebrated a number of positive dimensions of their experience:

• Direct connections with people in their own communities kindles empathy and respect for the people.
• Relationships with women in Nicaragua warmed as anxiousness and nervousness gave way to understanding and grace.
• Living Water is widely owned by many in the Trinity/Pointe of Grace communuity and other churches are expressing interest in starting a similar project.
• Seeds of Hope was inspired by encounter with a mother who did not even enterain the option of sending her children to school because there was no way to purchase uniforms.  Now mothers like her are being empowered to realize that they do have options
• People are getting the message that they can actually make a difference in real places.

From stories shared, it is clear that globally focused activities at Trinity/Pointe of Grace are currently inspired as individuals who have traveled to various places where they have had personal encounters with the needs of the world, return with a burden to make a difference and share their stories and their vision with others.

Conversations about ways to improve the work of Global Engagement at Trinity/Pointe of Grace centered around ways to communicate  more effectively with others since growth of these ministries seems to be founded on direct personal experience and telling of stories.

A challenge identified by the group was that the variety of groups, each with differing passions and seeking support from the broader community, might be vulnerable to a spirit of competition for resources.  The group aspired to maintain a spirit of abundance rather than scarcity and to look for ways to collaborate rather than compete.

One idea that emerged from discussion was the establishment of some type of common infrastructure that would allow leaders in the various ministries to connect more regularly with one another to find encouragement, share their wisdom and experience, and collaborate on deepening awareness of global opportunities in our community.

To add a comment, click on the (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.

Mustard Seed/Life Groups Constituency Input Session Results

Approximately 15 people gathered on Saturday, May 7, to review Mustard Seed/Life Group Ministries at Trinity/Pointe of Grace.

The group reviewed the Trinity/Pointe of Grace identity statement and the purpose of Mustard Seed/Life Group Ministry: to provide an organic, life-giving process for engaging people, who share a common interest, in relational gatherings, including opportunity for nurturing relationship with God, mentoring one another, and making a positive difference in the community.

Individuals shared stories that they believed reflected positive experience of fulfilling this purpose. The Harmony group was surprised to receive enthusiastic cheers as they marched in the Gay Pride Parade and discovered that was inspired by the uncommon message of acceptance communicated by a religious body. Members of the Journey Group shared the practice of journaling with Fort Lewis families with loved ones deployed overseas to help both the ones deployed and the ones at home process and share their feelings during the period of separation. Living Water representatives heard of others encouraged by their connecting theory and practice in words and deeds of the church. 

Based on shared accounts of positive experiences of Life Groups, the group identified a number of factors that contribute to the current level of ministry sucess. Some of these include:

• The power of allowing groups to form around individual passions
• Flexibility and willingness to allow groups to change with circumstances
• Relationship building

A number of possible improvements to enhance Life Group Ministry were identified. Some of the priority improvements included:

• Develop better ways of communicating with the community about the opportunities available in Life Groups
• Reach outside of the congregation to include and cooperate with other groups and individuals
• Deepening the experience of sharing learning at Huddles (leader meetings) to increase leadership skills and to enable leaders to refer people to groups that might interest them.

The group named some challenges that might be faced as they move forward and tried to generate possible solutions.  Some of these included:

• Challenge:  Limited Resource       Solution:  Consider applying for grants, share resources, develop co-ops
• Challenge:  Rejuvenating groups Solution:  Give personal invitations to others, share stories of what Life Groups are doing to make a difference in the world, listen to others’ interests and refer them to groups they might connect with
• Challenge:  Personality clashes in groups         Solution: Provide education and/or coaching
• Challenge:  Communication          Solution:  Utilize multiple avenues for different audiences, remember not everyone is present in worship or receives What’s Happening

Some of the insights gleaned from the session were

• We can still learn more about being in community with people who are different from us
• There is not yet a “whole” structure that contains/links the multiple life groups
• We can learn to respect diverse opinions
• If we pay attention to our experience, we can see more of what is being accomplished
• We are all part of the body of Christ—with different expressions

All of the information gathered at this session will be included in the action planning process for future Mustard Seed/Life Group ministries.

To add a comment, click on the (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.

Pastoral Care Input Session Summary

A good group of folks gathered on Tuesday, April 25, to review Pastoral Care Ministries at Trinity/Pointe of Grace. 

The group reviewed the Trinity/Pointe of Grace identity statement: We manifest God's dream as a community that makes space for people to recognize what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and discover and assume their unique roles in partnership with God; and the purpose of Pastoral Care Ministry:  The purpose of the Pastoral Care Team is to identify, invite and offer educational experiences, emotional and spiritual support to caregivers within our faith community so that we all recognize and share the presence and power of God's love in our relationships. 

Based on shared accounts of positive experiences of Pastoral Care ministry, the group uncovered a number of factors that contribute to the current level of ministry sucess.  Some of these include:

• Everyone empowered to minister, not just clergy
• A large cohort of people trained in listening and in following through on needs
• A computer tracking system so that no one "falls through the cracks"
• Formal and informal referral process identifying and screening needs and making connections to resources
• Building relationships leads to discovery of places where people can serve
• A culture of acceptance and non-judgment nurtured at all levels

A number of improvements possible improvements to enhance Pastoral Care Ministry were identifed.  Some of the priority improvements included:

• Expanding on quality training offered to Pastoral Care and Stephen Ministers and offering more specialized trainings
• Paying attention to the concerns of older members of the community
• Remembering that all are ministers
• Share stories of people who have benefitted from care of Pastoral Care Ministers and Stephen Ministers

Participants spent some time imagining new possibilities might take Pastoral Care Ministries to a new level of effectiveness.  Ideas that seemed most popular were

• Offer some level of training in listening and caring skills to many more members of our community
• Build a Community Center to house additional ministries to Neighbors in Need, Cold Weather Shelter, Counseling Services, Seniors Services
• Have professionals (doctors, lawyers, counselors) available for consultation
• More people viewing themselves as ministers
• Youth-related counseling ande mentoring services
• Full range of Senior Ministries

Some of the insights gleaned from the session were

• When we break large challenges down into small steps, they seem more doable
• Hiring another pastor may not "solve" everything
• Some in the community prefer the ordained ministers to offer pastoral care and others hold that all are ministers
• These kinds of conversations can be encouraging
• Pastoral care is being offered in many places beyond our congregation.

All of the information gathered at this session will be included in the action planning process for future pastoral care ministries.

To add a comment, click on the (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.

Pointe of Grace Community Visioning and Staffing Conversation

On Wednesday, May 4, approximately 30 folks gathered for a visioning session to inform planning for staffing the Pointe of Grace campus to support emerging ministries.  Following this session, the Mission Council approved a position description for a Ministry Developer to be based in Mukilteo.

Rather than simply filling the vacant position left by the recent resignation of the Pointe of Grace administrator, a conversation was held to imagine possibilities for future ministry and think about what kind of staff would support community members in creating those possibilties.

Pointe of Grace currently houses several distinct community elements:  Sunday morning worshipping community, Harbor Pointe Christian Pre-School teachers and parents, Unbend and The Pointe, high schools ministry, and the Community Gardening community.  Representatives of all these, plus several members connected to the Lynnwood campus, told stories of personally meaningful experiences they've had at the Pointe of Grace campus; generated visions of future ministry results; and identified the kinds of staff functions that would best help them succeed in developing those results.

Participants imagined a future characterized by such things as comprehensive programs for children and youth, thriving Vacation Bible Schools, alternative style worship services, a Pub-style drop-in center, serving as a bench-mark example of community gardening, integrated relationships between Pre-School and congregation, and impactful discipleship programs.  At tables, five small groups listed skills they would like to see in a staff person.  This input was incorporated into the Mission Council's work on position description for what is being called a Ministry Developer to serve at the Pointe of Grace location.  This position is envisioned as a 25-hour position.  The Ministry Developer position is an unfolding expression of the Trinity/Pointe of Grace identity of "manifesting God's dream by making space for people to recogize what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and to recognize and assume their unique roles in partnership with God."  This position will focus on encouraging and equipping individuals to understand and fulfill their personal vocations to ministry and service.   You may click here to view the Ministry Developer position description.  Since staffing the Pointe of Grace campus is an immediate priority, the council is actively engaged in the search and hiring process.

To add a comment, click on the (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.

How Are We One?

Worship photos by John Ortiz, NiN photo by Eileen Hansen, Jeremiah Center photo by Josh Jones

"Are you visiting today or do you normally attend another service?"  That is the question I've learned to ask when I greet someone who is a stranger to me on Sunday morning.  Until I devised this approach, I often found myself welcoming someone who is a regular part of the Trinity/Pointe of Grace community as an outsider, just because I didn't recognize her or him.  Before coming to Trinity/Pointe of Grace, all of our church experience had been in smaller communities where we knew everyone by name.  The community here is different.  The pictures above represent six different expressions of this community, each of which has its own character and which people may identify as their primary connection to the community:  7:45 Sunday at Trinity; 9:00 Sunday at Trinity; 9:30 Sunday at Pointe of Grace; 10:30 at Trinity; 8:30 Saturday at Trinity (Neighbors in Need); throughout the week at Jeremiah Center. 

We are all part of one community which gathers in different groupings, in different times and places!  This is one of the happy consequences of growth to which we need to adapt in order to continue to thrive as a community in the future.  In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul wrote, about the unity of the body of Christ, "Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot would say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear would say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body."  We all understand this.  But we might be vulnerable to falling unconsciously into the same kind of error Paul was trying to correct!  We might be prone to think "because you gather in a different location, you are not part of my community," or "because you gather at a different time, you are not part of my community."  Folks whom we don't see on a regular basis may not be a part of immediate circle of relationship but they are still part of the one large body that makes up Trinity/Pointe of Grace.

Unless we are intentional about changing our awareness, we will naturally slip into an "us-them" mindset.  "Us" is the people I know and see regularly.  "Them" are the people who I don't know.  One way I'm trying to address this for myself is through a thought discipline.  I'm trying not to use the word "they" when I refer to community members who gather at a time different from my regular slot.  I try to think of them as "we" and describe them as the folks who gather at Pointe of Grace or at 10:30.  It's a small exercise but potentially powerful because each time I use the word "they" about another group, I'm separating myself from them.  In this era in our community, it seems worth the effort to remember that there is only one community gathering in several places and times and everyone in that community is a part of "we."  There is no "them"--only "us"!

Another way to build our awareness of oneness is to follow the example of the brave souls that I've mistakenly welcomed as visitors by occasionally paricipating in the community at a time or place different from our norm.

If you have found a way to build a bridge to another part of our community so that you feel more connected--more "one" with the whole, please take a moment to share your experience so others can join you in weaving stronger relationships. 

To share your experience of building bridges of relationship, click on the (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can add your own storie and read others.

Stories of Making Space--Pointe of Grace Garden Stewards and Trinity Creation Stewards

Mustard Seed Groups, Creation Stewards and Pointe of Grace Garden  Stewards are sponsoring Creation Care Day, Sunday, April 10.  Last week, they highlighted the ways which they have discovered to participate with God in manifesting the dream of healthy and restored creation.  Activities such as recycling, reusing plastic bags, native growth restoration, community garden and the annual Creation Care Day have provided opportunities for building connections with others while caring for the environment.  View the complete presentation here.

These two groups are demonstrating the core idenitity/purpose of Trinity/Pointe of Grace:
We manifest God’s dream

as a community that makes space for people

--to recognize what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world

                      and

--to discover and assume their unique roles in partnership with God.

If you would like to post your story of how you have noticed how God might desire to change the world, imagined a way to use your gifts to cooperate with God so that God's dream of increased love, compassion and justice in the world is made more visible, please post it here!

To add your story, click on the  (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read stories and add your own.

Impact of Congregational Growth

 

Differing sized churches typically experience different group cultures and different patterns of ministry and relationship.  What works for one size just doesn't fit for another.  Over its history, Trinity has shifted through four milestones in size and is on the brink of a fifth.  Churches of up to 50 in worship operate as a family, with a few long-term lay leaders providing stability and direction.  Churches with 50 to 150 attending worship are described as pastoral size because much of congregation's life centers around relationship with the pastor.  The next level, program size, too large for everyone to be intimately connected with a pastor, has people making more connections through lay leaders who are involved in offering a variety of ministry programs.  Churches with between 350 and 500 worshippers are termed corporate and often have a large, professional staff in charge of developing many areas of ministry.

The fact that Trinity has successfully navigated each of these transitions is testimony to the congregation's resilience and adaptability because many factors exert pressure on groups to remain in their current category.  Since we currently have combined worship attendance of 550, we are likely facing another shift in the way we do ministry.  Staff will become more focused on equipping and empowering individuals and groups in the community as they respond to God's call to ministry.

Most likely, each of us have a "favorite" church size imprinted on our memory that tells us how things "should" be.  Perhaps it matches the church of our childhood, a church where we had a particularly significant experience, or the first congregation we were exposed to.  It is likely that those memories are not matched in our current experience since the Trinity/Pointe of Grace community has developed beyond what many have experienced before.  This means there may be feelings of disappointment when those old expectations aren't met and feelings of surprise and satisfaction as we encounter new and enriching opportunities that are available to us here.

It is useful to pay attention to these kinds of shifts in a community because shifts tend to mean that some things that are familiar are less evident while new possibilities emerge.  It is also good to notice what we particularly appreciate and recognize that we can take our own initiative to re-create some of those "favorite" experiences in new ways.

Some members of this community may be able to remember some of the shifts that happened at former developmental steps--things that decreased and new things that came.  If you do, and would like to share them, to help us understand how those changes happened, add your story to this blog. 

To add a comment, click on the  (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.

Where are we in the planning process?

Some folks have been wondering where we are in the planning process (formerly called Transition, now called Living into God's Future for Us).  In last week's entry (March 16, Living into God's Future) we discussed some of the motivation for planning.  This entry describes how planning is moving forward these days.

The graphic below pictures 3 distinct stages.  Currently we are engaged in the conversations represented in the left-hand column.  Staff and Mission council are involved in ongoing conversations to clarify existing needs and opportunities.  The circled "Re-visioning Ministry Conversations" are in process.  Core leaders of basic ministry areas met on March 5 to discuss our community's identy/purpose statement and begin clarifying the purpose of each ministry area.  Those groups are currently having follow-up discussions in preparation for meetings that will be held for each area, inviting constituency input and feedback.  Ministry leaders will develop preliminary plans, based on this feedback.  Congregational conversations are happening via this blog, the upcoming constituency input sessions for ministry areas and forums yet to be announced.

As activities represented in the first column proceed, we will move into a phase of discerning and describing a long term vision for Trinity, Lynnwood and Pointe of Grace.  Building on recent similar work, we will assess the community around us, look at current needs and opportunities, and open ourselves to the leading of the Spirit in order to plot the trajectory for ministry that we believe will characterize our community in the future.

The third column of the graphic represents the development of an organizational and resource plan for ministry.  Our community has already evolved into new ways of doing ministry and we need to develop the organizational systems that will support the complex network of ministries that exist and will emerge in the future.  We also need to organize our human resources (staff and volunteer) so all are liberated to maximize their effectiveness and plan for arranging and developing our capital resources (building, property, finances) in ways that will position us to move into the future we imagine God has for us.

When will this process be done??  That is good question.  Let me begin to answer with a joke that has often come to mind reflecting on this process. 

Question:    "Why do surgeons get paid so much more than auto mechanics?"

Answer:       "Because mechanics don't have to work with the motor running."

It's hard to predict exactly how long this will take because we aren't shutting down current ministry while we do it.  Existing ministries continue.  New ministries are initiated.  Staff continue to walk with community members through life's passages.  Life and ministry are happening now, even while we plan for the future.  But, acknowledging this reality, we can project that the Re-visioning Ministry conversations may be completed by sometime this fall and an organizational and resource plan may be completed sometime next spring. 

This blog will be a central place to keep updated on evolving developments and to keep connected to what is happening.  If you have questions about this planning process, you can post them here. 

To add a comment, click on the  (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.

Living into God's Future--What does it mean?

Trinity, Lynnwood and Pointe of Grace are in an intentional phase of seeking God's guidance in planning for future ministry.

One reason it is important to pay attention to God's dream for the future is that our present action is shaped by the future we expect.  The recent earthquake in Japan illustrates this.  Because that country lived with the expectation that earthquakes would be part of their future their current actions had prepared them so that damage was less than it might have been otherwise.  Even though we in the Pacific Northwest have been warned about potential future earthquakes, relatively few of us prepare for "the big one" that has been predicted.  In part, this may be due to the normal human behavior of assuming that our future will be something similar to our past experience.  So our present actions, based on past experience, actually re-create  the past, continuing our relative lack of preparedness. 

If we believe that God has an intention for the world that different from our current experience, then we must look out into that future and make God's vision our own, here and now, so that we do not simply recreate an (hopefully) improved version of the past but take actual steps toward creating the new future that is God's intention.  The graphic represents the impact of bringing both our past experience and wisdom and an inspired vision of the past into our present.  This generates progress toward a new future. 

Ministry area groups spent some time imagining God's dream for the future in order to inspire their work.

You may click here to access a guide for your own prayerful reflection on God's intention for our world.  Or you may click here to get a simple tool to start conversation with your children about God's dream for the world.

If you use these tools, we'd welcome you to share some of what you imagine you would see and hear in a world where God's dream for the world was made visible. 

To add a comment, click on the  (#) comments link below and the page will open where you can read comments and add your own.