Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

For my family, vacations are usually intergenerational affairs. From an early age, I remember vacationing with an assortment of my MacKay aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents as well as day trips and picnics with cousins, aunt, uncle, grandparents, and great aunts on my father’s side of the family.

This tradition continues today. For nearly 20 years, my mother has rented a cottage on the coast of Maine and filled it with an assortment of relatives and friends.

Once at the cottage, I find myself transported to ‘Maine time’ where the clock becomes irrelevant. Breakfast and lunch are on your own, and dinnertime is set according to how people are feeling on any given day. Daytime often means beach time, swimming, biking, or long walks along the shore. Evenings might mean a walk along the beach, looking for constellations or sharing a space on the couch with other Red Sox fans while watching the game.

Life is simpler and slower.

And, we talk. We talk when we sit on the beach, we talk when we walk, we talk while preparing meals and cleaning up. Spending this time together, we connect on a deeper level than we do during the rest of the year when our lives are crowded with the responsibilities of our day-to-day lives.

Our time in Maine is our family bonding time.

Keeping our connections healthy and strong is important to me and my family and close friends. These relationships bring me deep joy and sustain me in times of difficulty or trouble. They are a key part of my identity.

Like families, congregations can benefit from family bonding time. Bringing members of the parish together for retreat, a project, or other group activity offers opportunities for connecting in different ways than the shared experience of the Eucharist, coffee hour, or Vestry or committee meeting. For me, some of the most transformational experiences I’ve had with my church family have occurred during mission trips, resulting in deeper and richer relationships with both my traveling companions and with God.

The articles in the July/August Vestry Papers share stories of congregations that have built connections between generations through shared experiences. What are some of the ways your congregation is bringing people together in meaningful ways? How are members of your congregation connecting with each other and forming new friendships and relationships? I’m eager to hear your stories.