in Vestry Papers and filtered by Christian Formation, Clergy Transition, Small Churches + 5 other(s)
By Charis Bhagianathan
In this issue, we highlight traditional tools, as well as relationship-building and partnership-focused ideas to consider that will enrich our learning and service to our Church.
By ECFVP Team
The Congregational Vitality Assessment (CVA) tool is designed to provide congregations with an assessment of their Vitality (how healthy they are) and their Sustainability (whether they have the people, financial, and contextual resources necessary to survive). The CVA is made available free to congregations of all denominations and religions by a partnership between The FaithX Project and the Epi...
By Beth Wyndham
What does it mean to be centered in joy? Are you searching for a way to engage your church leadership in reflection on their joy and gratitude as a community? In her vlog, A Pandemic Church Plant Inspires Joy, Beth Wyndham invites us to consider where the Holy Spirit may be calling our faith communities to seek joy.
By Kathy Culmer
In The Joy and Gratitude Within, Kathy Culmer shares wisdom through words and video about the ways gifts like joy from our God may not always look like what we’re expecting, and how we often find them in unexpected places and spaces when we most need them.
By Anthony Rodríguez
Eran las ocho de la mañana, lo que significaba que era hora de despertar e ir a la iglesia. Mientras que me ponía mi bonita camisa de vestir y pantalones negros, le pregunté a mi mamá si ella iba a enseñar la clase de la escuela dominical. Lamentablemente, respondió que no. Inmediatamente me puse a la defensiva y le dije que no quería ir a clase si ni ella ni mi hermana estarían enseñánd...
By Hipólito Fernández Reina
Crecí en una familia de fe. Mi padre fue sacerdote católico durante 12 años, en los años 60, antes de tener la suerte de conocer a mi madre y casarse. Como buenos latinos, siempre vivimos con mucha gente en nuestra casa. Todos éramos como una familia. Por ello, desde pequeño pude ver y sentir la unidad familiar como un valor central en mi vida.
By Santi Rodríguez
Como nos lo cuenta este libro, la salud mental afecta a cada aspecto de la vida diaria. La salud mental es motivo de nuestra atención y por una buena razón. Según estimaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, más de mil millones de personas sufren en todo el mundo enfermedades mentales.
By Angela Gutierrez Castillo
There are times when only family is able to help us keep moving forward. In My Family, My Motivation, Angela Gutierrez Castillo talks about the importance of family – not only the family you’re born into but the family you make along the way – to motivate her and to help her to overcome struggles and reach important life goals. Her family has inspired her to work hard and be dedicated.
By Aisha Huertas
How can small churches operate from a mindset of abundance? In Beyond the Numbers, Aisha Huertas shares examples and lists practical ways in which small churches have massive positive impact in the communities around them.
By Robert Leopold
COVID-19 has unforgivingly exposed a challenging vision of the future of our church. In Tension and Release in the Church, Robert Leopold uses the analogy of a “wrist rocket” from the Netflix series Stranger Things and shares how being called to “wade into the tension of our times” might be the pandemic’s hidden gift.