in Vestry Papers and filtered by Conflict, Hospitality
By Adriane Bilous
In Shepherding Change, Adriane Bilous offers real stories of change, shared by participants in ECF’s Congregational Leadership Initiative program, that provide practical advice on how to tackle difficult changes in ministry.
By Luisa Bonillas
Change can be deeply painful, especially when it affects our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. In Conflict and Change, Luisa Bonillas describes the impact of difficult change in her church and what she learned from the experience.
By Alissa Anderson
People often have strong opinions about what they believe millennials care (or not) about. In Millennial Mythbusters: Church Edition, Alissa Anderson dispels some common myths and shares truths about millennials and their life in church.
By Sandra Montes
Este año decidí visitar una iglesia diferente cada domingo y bloguear sobre mis experiencias. Ese esfuerzo duró unos tres meses hasta que, como ocurre a menudo, la vida intervino. Durante ese tiempo aprendí mucho sobre lo que pueden hacer las iglesias para ser acogedoras, amorosas, liberadoras y vivificantes.
By David Rice and Anna Carmichael
What does it look like when a diocese decides to take hospitality seriously? In Taking Church out Into the Community, Bishop David Rice and Anna Carmichael share their experience of focusing on community, outreach and welcome and what it means to begin to see the face of Jesus in “the other.”
By Sandra Montes
What makes a church welcoming to a first-time visitor? In Ten Signs of a Welcoming Congregation, Sandra Montes provides ideas from her travels to various churches across the country, listing qualities she found to be common in parishes that make visitors feel at home and truly welcome. This article is available in English and Spanish.
By Jamie Martin Currie
Is your parish a place where children are welcome? In Let the Children Come to Me, Jamie Martin Currie explains why it is important to provide intentional hospitality to children, and describes how paying attention to the needs of both parents and children can make the church the vibrant and welcoming place it should be.
By Sarah Barton
As we strive to serve all our neighbors in the love of Christ, upholding the dignity of every human being, may our lives be blessed by people with IDD as we together affirm boldly and faithfully: “I will, with God’s help!”
By Scott Petersen
What can a church learn from a soccer referee? In “title” Scott Peterson, priest and a soccer referee, draws our attention to the ways an experienced referee, in the heat of the moment restores order and engenders trust in his/her decisions. He offers the referee’s steps as a guide for reacting to conflict when it flares up in a church setting.
By Bonnie Anderson
Speaking up is important in congregations headed down the path of – or embroiled in – conflict and angst. In “The Courage to Speak” Bonnie Anderson reminds congregational leaders of the promise we made in our baptismal covenant to respect the dignity of every human being. She offers approaches for clergy and laity to consider that might head off these difficult situations.
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