04/12/2022 - Groundbreakers Breakfast Book Group - A Brief Interview with Sarah Drummond
By: Karen Ziel - Leadership DevelopmentRev. Dr. Sarah Drummond, Dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School is ...
Blogs
Blogs
02/11/2022 - The Post-Pandemic Church is Here
By: Karen Ziel - Leadership Development"I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope." Jeremiah 29:11 At a recent ...
01/14/2022 - The Role of Discernment - An Interview with Beth Estock
By: Karen Ziel - Church Innovation Leadership DevelopmentKaren Ziel, Assistant Director of The SNEUCC Center for Transformational Leadership conducted an interview with Beth Estock on the practice of discernment. As co-author ...
12/13/2021 - Communicating Your Vision
By: Elisa Wilson - Church InnovationCommunication. It is responsible for the exchange of ideas; the declaration of feelings; the formation and perpetuation of relationships. As leaders, the creation of a ...
12/10/2021 - Lunch & Learn for Leaders
By: Bridget Johnson - Church Innovation Conference programmingIn just a few weeks, we will launch our 2022 programs, starting with our new monthly Lunch & Learn for Leaders series on Thursday, January 20 (see below). These programs ...
09/14/2021 - Where Do You Worship?
By: Deborah Kirk - Christmas Worship & SpiritualityEighteen months of Covid has taught us that the church is not the building, and that physical distance does not necessarily mean spiritual distance. We have found sacred ...
09/13/2021 - Coaching: A Transformational Tool
By: Timoth Sylvia - Church Innovation“We all have within us a deep wisdom, but sometimes we don’t know we have it.” ~ Shakti Gawain Some of the most rewarding experiences since adopting our three children ...
09/13/2021 - Sharing Leadership: a UCC Way of Being in Community
By: Sarah Drummond - Church InnovationSharing Leadership is important in today’s UCC now more than ever. Our denomination is known for its stance on inclusivity and justice, which has attracted cherished new ...
09/08/2021 - Small Church Collaborative: What’s In a Building?
By: Elizabeth Magill - Church InnovationIn my church’s case, there is (or rather was) a lot of stuff in our building. We’ve filled a dumpster with trash, donated to area non-profits, recycled more paper than ...
07/13/2021 - Fancy Tools
By: Emily McKenna - Church InnovationWhich tools do we need to use for true innovation to take place?
07/13/2021 - Small Church Collaborative - Sunday Worship
By: Elizabeth Magill - Church InnovationFor many small churches there is a painful journey of dwindling resources—less time, less money, fewer volunteers. Pastors travel this path with congregations, trying to ...
07/13/2021 - The Transformational Work of God
By: Deborah Ringen - Church InnovationAs people called to serve to God, it is easy to lose sight of our own woundedness yet spending some time with our doubts and pain brings greater self-awareness which ...
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04/14/2020 - Discipleship in the Time of Pandemic: This Too Shall Pass
By: Marilyn KendrixThis past Sunday was Easter Sunday and like many folks around the Conference, I was feeling despondent because it was not going to be the Easter that I am used to. I was...
04/01/2020 - Enlist Specialists to Improve Outreach Ministry
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationLeading a congregation often demands the skills of a generalist, whether it’s the pastor or a team of lay leaders. Yet expert knowledge has its place. Specialists such as...
03/01/2020 - What is the Emerging Church?
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationIn a pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Peter Rollins and a group called the Ikon collective organized a religious event for visitors in town for a conference called ...
02/01/2020 - Get to Know the Community through Mapping
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationWhen Pastor Alexis was hired to do community outreach for the church in a racially diverse, economically struggling neighborhood, church members told him, “This is a high...
01/01/2020 - Repurpose Worship Space, Don’t Rebuild
By: The Parish Paper - Leadership DevelopmentJanuary 2020—Volume 28, Number 1 Copyright @ 2020 by Dana Horrell Having to deal with poorly designed or ill-suited worship space can be ...
12/01/2019 - Writing as a Tool for Community Engagement
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationDecember 2019—Volume 29, Number 12 Copyright @ 2019 by Dana Horrell Writing can help church leaders in their efforts to reach out to the community. Typically seen as a ...
11/01/2019 - Learning to Love Variety in Worship Song Selection
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationAndrea, music director at The Blue Note Church, straps in and prepares to select song ideas for the worship team to consider as it prepares for Sunday. She decides to ...
04/01/2019 - Building Your Community Ties with a Block Party
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Making DisciplesSome neighborhoods feel more secure once neighbors have become acquainted. Church leaders wanting to get to know their community could organize a block party. It can be a...
02/01/2019 - What is Contemporary Worship
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesAt First Church, the newly arrived pastor faced a question over whether to continue holding its evening service, which utilizes a rock band, praise songs, and emphasizes ...
09/28/2018 - Where will your Church be 10 Years from Now?
By: Donald RemickThe Body of Christ is eternal. It is alive and well across the globe. And for the institutional church, the road ahead may look substantially different from the road ...
09/01/2018 - Checking Up on Clergy Health: Assessing the Cost of Sacred Work
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesMany people feel called to their work and respond to job demands in ways that reflect a sense of vocation. But do we expect clergy to perform their calling with even ...
08/01/2018 - How to Raise Money for your Community Projects
By: The Parish Paper - Making Disciples StewardshipA congregation’s community project often starts with someone’s idea or dream, followed by a plan designed by a core team, and then, a group of volunteers willing to roll ...
07/01/2018 - Inviting, Informing, and Including Newcomers
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership DevelopmentIn the 1950s, a new church start pastor challenged every member to invite two newcomers each month. Members enthusiastically committed to such a plan and the pastor’s ...
06/01/2018 - Making the Nursery a Place of Belonging
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Making Disciples“Where is the nursery?” That is often the first question when young parents visit a new church. At a minimum, they expect their question to be answered with confidence, ...
05/01/2018 - How to Balance Hospitality and Church Security
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Disaster Relief StewardshipWhen Jack picked up his car after repairs at the local dealership, he noticed instructions securely taped on the main desk where all customers could easily read it. "What...
04/01/2018 - Church Energy Use: Can We Harness Hope?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation StewardshipCarbon dioxide emissions have been implicated as a key factor in rising global temperatures. Because all church buildings use energy, much of it derived from carbon-based...
03/01/2018 - Finding Significance as a Small Church
By: The Parish Paper - Leadership DevelopmentMarch 2018—Volume 26, Number 3 Copyright @ 2018 by Cynthia Woolever Imagine a company with more than 300,000 small retail outlets, which are locally...
01/01/2018 - 18 Questions for 2018
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesTim Shapiro, from the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, believes that vibrant congregations exhibit a commitment to increasing congregational capacity. As demands on...
12/22/2017 - Partnering with Families for Children’s Faith Formation
By: Debbie Kolacki - Church Innovation Making DisciplesThose of us in Christian Education work hard to provide our children and youth with information and experiences which we hope will lead them to have a lifelong faith. ...
08/01/2017 - What Promotes Hope?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership DevelopmentDo we see a snake or a rope? In this metaphor, the snake is fear, disappointment, discouragement, despair, anxiety, distrust, bitterness, or dejection. What is the rope? ...
07/18/2017 - Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Why Coaching is a Transformative Edge for Your Church
By: Todd Weir - Church Innovation“Please do not laminate our new vision statement and put it on the wall,” a member quipped...
05/01/2017 - Financing the Local Church
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation StewardshipEven though they are not members, Bill and Dorothy go to a church in their neighborhood once or twice per month. They are fond of the pastor and proud of the ...
04/26/2017 - Growing Your Communication and Conflict Resiliency Capacity
By: Donald Remick - Church InnovationFriends, We are frequently getting requests about resources for individuals and churches around skills to help transform conflict into health choices, conversations and...
04/01/2017 - Small is Big Again: Reclaiming Small Church Ministry
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership DevelopmentAlthough megachurches garner a great deal of attention, these supersized congregations comprise only a small fraction of all worshiping communities in the U.S. The ...
02/01/2017 - How Do Congregations Respond to Interfaith Couples?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesWhile Christian-Jewish may be most people’s first association for “interfaith,” as the population of “nones” grows, the most common pairing is actually a Christian and a ...
01/01/2017 - Conquering the Cutback Syndrome
By: The Parish Paper - Leadership DevelopmentJanuary 2017—Volume 25, Number 1 Copyright @ 2017 by Cynthia Woolever “We simply have too many churches in this small town,” declared a respected lay ...
12/09/2016 - Contact New Folks Near Your Church in Time for Christmas
By: Donald Remick - Church InnovationMission Insite has a way for you to economically acquire a list of folks who are new to your community.
10/01/2016 - Keeping UP with the Pastor's Pay: Trends Behind Clergy Wages
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationOctober 2016—Volume 24, Number 10 Copyright @ 2016 by Cynthia Woolever Forces large and small affect how best to answer the question: “What should we pay...
09/01/2016 - What Keeps Congregations from Implementing New Ideas?
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationSeptember 2016—Volume 24, Number 9 Copyright @ 2016 by Cynthia Woolever All individuals and organizations struggle with change. Implementing new ideas ...
05/23/2016 - Sanctuary UCC journey shows power in collective
By: Wendy Vanderhart - Church InnovationThe brave, faithful members and leaders of Sanctuary United Church of Christ revealed what it means to be church this weekend in an article beautifully written for the ...
05/01/2016 - How Do New People Hear About Your Church?
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationWhen asked, “How did you first find out about this congregation?” visitors give surprisingly diverse answers. Because not all visitors are seeking the same thing, their ...
04/01/2016 - How to Deal with Church Conflict
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationApril 2016—Volume 24, Number 4 Copyright @ 2016 by Cynthia Woolever The governing board met to make their final decision about hiring a new ...
02/01/2016 - The Payday Lending Crisis: What Can Congregations Do?
By: The Parish Paper - Church InnovationSeveral years ago, the Rev. Dr. Freddy Hayes III, pastor of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, noticed storefront payday lenders popping up like mushrooms, ...
07/07/2015 - Engage at All Levels (VIDEO and TEXT)
By: John White - Annual Meeting Church InnovationSee how the Dudley UCC connects to church and community through PJ’s Place email communication, yoga, theater, and Bible reading.
04/14/2015 - Dig Deep
- Church InnovationIncreasing membership in a small church means having to empower the members and helping them dig deep into their faith.
10/14/2014 - Getting to Know You
By: Donald Remick - Church InnovationIn this current era of life and culture, one of the realizations is a return to an ancient concept of relationships. How do we get to know our neighbors? How do we ...
09/17/2014 - A New Church for a New Generation
By: Donna Spencer Collins - Church InnovationThere is a church in Haverhill embarking on a path towards a new rebirth for this generation. Who is this generation? These are the children who heard a splintered and ...
09/08/2014 - Jump start your church - it's worth the effort
- Church InnovationThe Rev. Jane Willan talks about the ideas behind her new book, Jump Start This Church!
08/18/2014 - 18 from MACUCC inspired at National Church Leadership Institute
By: Donna Spencer Collins - Church InnovationEighteen people from the Massachusetts Conference UCC went to the National Church Leadership Institute August 7-10 in Atlanta GA. Donna Spencer Collins, a member of the ...
07/29/2014 - Words Became Procedures, Thoughts Turned into Actions
By: Amy Chin - Church InnovationChurch on the Hill, UCC in Lenox organized a community communion service where church-goers and non-churchgoers sat at the same table and shared music, scripture, ...
06/04/2014 - How our church came back from the dead and yours can too
By: Molly Phinney Baskette - Church InnovationOne of your sister churches, First Church Somerville UCC, where I have pastored since 2003, has enjoyed a remarkable degree of growth during the last decade: from 30 to ...
05/13/2014 - When is it OK to get involved with drugs?
- Church Innovation“What if your church suddenly disappeared overnight? Would anybody notice?” First Congregational Church UCC of Saugus believes it can no longer count on the tradition of ...
04/16/2014 - Planting Seeds for New Beginnings
By: Barbara Schenk - Church InnovationJesus’ words about the need to be born of the Spirit and born anew resonate with the current happenings at Foster Memorial Church in Springfield. The pastor – along with ...
02/19/2014 - Opportunity Knocks
By: Wendy Vanderhart - Church InnovationGod might be knocking on our church doors with opportunity! With parenting centers located in Arlington, Boston, Needham and Hanover closing, I immediately thought about...
02/07/2014 - A New Day, A New Way of Worshiping
By: Reed Baer - Church InnovationUpon his return from a sabbatical, the pastor of West Parish of Barnstable, UCC, was astonished to see that the church had suffered a marked decline in attendance by ...