Greetings, friends!
I have been so warmly welcomed into this role at the Center for Congregations, and I want in turn to offer a warm welcome to those of you who might be stopping by online. We are so glad you’re here.
After a short period in this new job, two initial observations are shining and clear to me:
First, this is an incredible staff. In all our regional centers around the state, we have people who care deeply about Indiana congregations, and about learning with, from, and for these organizations. As I get to know each of these human beings, I see different gifts, different personalities, different areas of expertise—and I see as well a unifying commitment to listening, a unifying belief that wisdom is grounded in and emerges from local community, a unifying passion for the flourishing of congregations in our Hoosier state. If you haven’t yet connected with the Center’s staff, please consider doing so. You won’t be sorry.
Second, congregations in Indiana are doing creative, inspiring work. Some of this work is funded by grants and some of it is not. Some of this work is shaped by encounter with helpful resources, and some of it is innovated locally. But local leaders, both lay members and ordained leaders, are thinking with fresh hearts and minds about the vocation of the congregation. They are asking questions about their local communities and connecting with other local leaders to see how they might support or partner in one another’s work.
They are clarifying their missions at a time when congregational membership is no longer a “given,” and when congregations have increasingly rare gifts to offer—gifts of community and of commitment to something bigger than just the individual self. They are turning to the wisdom of their traditional and ancestral practices and finding there rich resources to meet the needs of a cultural moment so often characterized by loneliness and anxiety. Indiana congregations, across incredibly diverse contexts, are doing work that fills me with hope.
I celebrate all of this, and I am thankful each day for the opportunity to join my efforts with those of this staff, championing the faithful work of the thousands of congregations in my beloved home state. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. We want to learn about your own work, and we would be honored to connect you with resources and a community that exists to help you do what you are called to do.
With gratitude,
