I began the requirement that the diaconate attend Super Saturday together when I arrived at  Central Square Congregational Church in Bridgewater eight years ago.  I used it as a way to build the group as a team and to get to know them out of our normal church/meeting environment. While the diaconate has naturally evolved over time, the annual pilgrimage to Super Saturday remains.  Now we have the Moderator, Vice Moderator, and other church leaders join in with the diaconate too! 

I always make it feel like a road trip.  We meet up early on Saturday morning, carpool in a large van, I make a mixed CD with music good for road tripping, we stop for coffee on the way, and by the time we arrive, we're ready to jump in, learn, share, and grow.  Everyone attends different workshops, and then when we meet up to go home we spend the time in the van talking about what we learned, brainstorm where we can go from where we are, and reflect on our successes as a community.  We stop for coffee on the way home too.  (I mean, we are New Englanders.)  Plus, that extra time is spent with more sharing about ideas and what we learned over the course of the day. 

Honestly, our Annual Super Saturday Road Trip is one of my favorite things about my job because it's time and space away to dream together.

What does the church get out of it?
The church gets leaders who are inspired, leaders who have vision, and leaders who have gained confidence to lead.

Some testimonials about what the deacons get out of it: 

• Scott Jackson, former Deacon: "I always feel like Super Saturday validates the work we're doing in the church.  It reminds me that we're on the right page, we're going in the right direction."  
   
• Diane Sheibley, Vice Moderator: "Besides awesome company and the promise of coffee, I think hearing that other congregations have the same challenges that we do is consoling.  To know that we're not alone in what we're going through in our church and then to hear how other people have approached it is invigorating."  
   
• Deb Sorgman, Sr. Deacon: "Attending Super Saturday workshops helped me to see that we do so many great things at our church and we need to share what we do with other churches.  It made me feel more confident to apply to actually lead a workshop at Super Saturday on how to include more people in the worship creation process."
   
• Anne Malmquist, Moderator: "It was actually a Super Saturday I attended two years ago that inspired me to be the Church Moderator.  It was there where I felt the call to lead."
   
• Jae Stotts, Jr. Deacon (14 yrs.old): "You get to talk to people that get you.  Also there's pretty good chocolate at the Marketplace." (Read about Jae's ministry.)