09/17/2020 - Playlists! An Exciting Innovation
By: Karen Ziel - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentPlaylists! What are they? An introduction to the concept of Playlists as a new format for shaping faith.
Blogs
Blogs
09/16/2020 - Boundary Training for Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Leaders
By: Debbie Gline Allen - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentBlurred boundaries can result for lay staff who are also members of that congregation.
08/20/2020 - An Adult Education Model for Churches, with a Twist
By: Debbie Gline Allen - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentIn this time of polarized opinions and beliefs, an attitude of humility toward our approach to the Bible and to each other is surely what God is desiring of us.
08/17/2020 - Lifelong Faith Formation Thrives with Trained Leaders
By: Debbie Gline Allen - Conference programming Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentWe owe it to our congregations to offer high quality faith formation and youth ministries, particularly during these uncertain times.
08/17/2020 - To Gather or Not?
By: Kristin Putney - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentKristin Putney offers a review of the recent webinar event: “Faith Formation Phasing Forward-To gather or not?” This is a question that is on so many minds these days ...
08/14/2020 - Discipleship Matters!
By: Marilyn Kendrix - Conference staff Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentDiscipleship matters. This is a statement that can be read two ways. If we read ‘matters’ as a noun, it refers to things having to do with discipleship. But if we ...
05/12/2020 - Zoombombing: It's Worse
By: Tiffany Vail - Leadership DevelopmentKing Street UCC in Danbury, CT, this weekend seemed to have done everything right. Someone still got in.
03/11/2020 - Follow Me
By: Deborah Kirk - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership Development“Follow me” By Debby Kirk Today, the term ‘follow’ is a click of a button on social media platform. It is done with just a quick tap of a finger and implies assent, a ...
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 ...
09/01/2019 - A Team Approach to Worship Design
By: The Parish Paper - Leadership DevelopmentAudrey Wells, director of Under the Tuscan Sun, describes how the use of non-professionals enriched the film crew’s effort to tell their story. For scenes in the town’s ...
06/01/2019 - Overcome Volunteer Burnout by Building Capacity
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentVital congregations reach out to strengthen the communities where they are located. Different denominations give different names for this ministry, including mission and ...
02/01/2019 - What is Contemporary Worship
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentAt 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 ...
11/01/2018 - How to Develop Habits for Well-Being
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentSeminaries and social work programs often ask their students to create a self-care plan. Not only does this send a message about self-care while pursuing a degree, ...
10/01/2018 - Don’t Disagree, Deliberate: How to Lead Community Conversations in Your Church
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Leadership DevelopmentThe church is no stranger to controversy. Chapter 15 of the Book of Acts describes a ...
09/01/2018 - Checking Up on Clergy Health: Assessing the Cost of Sacred Work
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentMany 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 ...
07/01/2018 - Inviting, Informing, and Including Newcomers
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality 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 ...
06/25/2018 - A Reflection on the TAWFG Internship Experience
By: Amanda Simpson - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership Development" Even though I didn’t understand the language being spoken, I clearly understood the purpose and meaning behind the act of giving praise, acknowledging our blessings, ...
06/13/2018 - Ministry Through Music
By: Dori Hall - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership Development"I have often felt as if I can see God in the faces of the congregation when I am singing." — Dori Hall
05/16/2018 - Many Voices, One Mission: Collaborating In Covenant
By: Deborah Kirk - Church Growth and Vitality Conference programming Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership Development Many Voices, One Mission"The blessing of a caring community will be realized in countless ways." — Debby Kirk
05/07/2018 - Seek And You Will Find- Nurturing Young Leaders
By: Deborah Kirk - Conference programming Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership Development"Do you know a young seeker who has an inquisitive spirit? Is there a youth in your congregation who is ready to explore faith at a deeper level?" — Debby Kirk
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 Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentTim Shapiro, from the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, believes that vibrant congregations exhibit a commitment to increasing congregational capacity. As demands on...
12/01/2017 - Does Our Pastor Need a Job Description?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Leadership DevelopmentServing a church without a written job description is like embarking on a long trip without a road map.
11/01/2017 - Mistakes Churches Make During an Interim Ministry
By: The Parish Paper - Leadership DevelopmentAfter thirty years of service, the pastor of Community Pine Church retired. For the majority of members, he was the only church pastor they had ever experienced. Lay ...
09/01/2017 - Equipping Volunteers Builds a Strong Community Church
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentSociologist Joshua Packard describes an emerging population he calls the “dones.” They are “spiritual refugees” from organized religion who were once long-time members, ...
08/01/2017 - What Promotes Hope?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality 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? ...
06/01/2017 - Ministry in the Midst of Tragedy
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Justice and Witness Leadership DevelopmentOn Friday, August 7, 2015, Vermont state employees left work and made their way to the parking lot together. There, a former client confronted and killed Lara Sobel, a ...
04/12/2017 - Reflection on Mentored Relationships
By: Karen Ziel - Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentA Reflection on Mentored Relationships This reflection offers insights about our new Mentored Relationships model for leadership development. Karen Ziel, Minister of ...
04/01/2017 - Small is Big Again: Reclaiming Small Church Ministry
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality 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 ...
03/01/2017 - Guide to Good Governance
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Leadership DevelopmentAfter months of meetings, the long-range planning committee of Epiphany Church submitted a report to the congregation’s board. The report highlighted three important ...
03/01/2017 - Prayers from Women Clergy Retreat
By: Michelle Hughes - Leadership DevelopmentRev. Michelle Hughes shares a few of the prayers lifted at the Women Clergy in the CT Conference retreat in Hamden.
02/01/2017 - How Do Congregations Respond to Interfaith Couples?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Faith Formation and Christian Education Leadership DevelopmentWhile 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 ...
01/12/2017 - An opportunity for inspiration and spiritual refreshment
By: Carol Steinbrecher - Leadership DevelopmentBy The Rev. Carol Steinbrecher Are you in your first 2 – 5 years in congregational leadership? Do you feel you could use some new inspiration, spiritual refreshment, ...
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 ...
12/01/2016 - Can We Wait for God's Spark?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Growth and Vitality Leadership DevelopmentDecember 2016—Volume 24, Number 12 Copyright @ 2016 by C. Jeff Woods God sparks innovations, but only on God’s terms, and those terms usually involve ...