Dear Black Forest Community Church, Friends and Neighbors!
This coming June we will once again transition into a new way of being church together. We are launching our Kinship Connection MINIstry groups and have organized the members, regular attendees, friends and neighbors into small groups. Our Vision for June (and perhaps the summer) is a deeply connected small group model which we are calling Kinship Connections. Playing off the idea of kinship as a web of social relationship and kin-dom that we refer to in our Lord’s prayer. The Purpose of the small groups is two fold. Primarily 1) to strengthen our community as a whole. 2) to care for each other as we move into the next stage of Covid-19.
We have organized our members and regular attendees into seven small groups based off of life stage, geography and interest. We have recruited seven facilitators to lead throughout the month of June. These small groups will be VERY flexible. Here is what it may look like (please keep in mind we are learning as we go):
The facilitator will gather their Kinship Connection MINIstry in one of several ways, once per week.
Zoom gathering
Weekly check in. What’s your story? Do you have joy or sorrow to share? or...
If you are in person, light a candle and invite God’s presence and Spirit. or...
Book study. or...
Perhaps, you just check-in and then provide an activity for the week or as a group.
In person: living room, back yard, trail or at the church. This could happen with the above check in, then meal time. Perhaps it is simply a fellowship or service project.
Or in a combination of ways: some meet in person while others are taken care of in other ways by the whole of the group.
The main purpose is that the group takes care of each other in one way or another and CONNECTS each other on deeper levels as it feels comfortable to each individual. You may have already been contacted by your facilitator, if not, you will hear from them in the next week or so. We hope to launch this new way of being together the week of June 7. Mandy and I will visit one group per week so that each group has a visit from one of us in the month of June.
We will continue our on-line presence. Mandy Todd (Director of Worship & Arts) and I will share a fifteen minute (or so) Sunday morning at 10am video on Facebook with a Greeting, Scripture/message, prayer and song. These videos may be used as a resource for your small group or prompts for discussion or might simply be used as individual spiritual development. The same video will premiere on Thursdays at 7pm if you miss the Sunday at 10am. More than anything your small group will serve as your church for the next month or more. The small group is a model of the early church--how they met, gathered, prayed and worshipped together.
Lastly, we encourage you to invite friends, neighbors or other family members to join your small group over the next few months. We think that these virtual and/or small group doors will serve our physical doors in the interim. Our first goal is to maintain and care for our community and then the second goal is to continue to grow and thrive as we were prior to Covid-19.
Here is the link to the ALL-CHURCH zoom gathering on this Friday, May 29, at 5pm. If you need help please contact me. Leslie Sheley also has made a video that explains how to use and access zoom meetings. Please do not hesitate to reach out and come with your questions and thoughts and ideas! I look forward to seeing all of you this Friday.
Peace & Grace,
Pastor Marta
P.S. If you are interested in our Friday Zoom informational and social hour meeting- please message us for the link and information.
