01/09/2023 - Surround Yourself With Supportive People
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesI am envisioning thriving congregations full of supportive people.
Blogs
Blogs
10/19/2022 - Churches Respond to Resiliency Time Capsule Documentary Premiere
- Church Innovation Leadership DevelopmentOn October 5, 2022, churches from across the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ gathered at Edwards House in Framingham, MA to view...
09/06/2022 - 5 Effective Keys to Recruiting and Nurturing Your Volunteers
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe pandemic has made the recruiting of volunteers a little more challenging, yet people still want to feel needed and know that they have something to offer.
07/07/2022 - Home Grown Faith Formation Leaders
By: Deborah Kirk - Leadership Development Making DisciplesInstead of waiting for a veteran Faith Formation leader to apply, why not cultivate one who may already be planted in your own backyard? We often look outside our church ...
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04/17/2022 - Congregational Capacity for Change: A Challenge for Small Churches
By: Elizabeth Magill - Church Innovation Leadership DevelopmentOne of the challenges for small churches is figuring out how much the congregation can do. Old programs you did when you had twice as many members seem to hang on. And ...
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 ...
01/10/2022 - Our Whole Lives (OWL) - Holistic Sexuality Education for UCC Congregations
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesA healthy approach to one’s sexuality.
11/07/2021 - Best Boundary Practices for Faith Formation Church Staff Members
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesWith careful attention, each situation can be managed with successful outcomes.
07/13/2021 - Charitable Society Assists Clergy in Need
By: Ann Plumley - Covenant Partnerships Leadership DevelopmentDo you know there is an organization that exists to assist retired pastors and their families with situations like these? Bug infestations - then getting scammed. ...
07/09/2021 - An Interview with Katie Howe
By: Emily McKenna - Leadership DevelopmentEmily McKenna, Program Support Associate, interviews Katie Howe. Katie is a Masters of Divinity student at Chicago Theological Seminary, a Woodridge Congregational Church...
07/07/2021 - Take Your Faith Formation Leadership to New Heights
By: Deborah Kirk - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe work of faith formation is challenging. It takes more than purchasing the perfect curriculum or implementing the hottest new lesson plan. We are called to bring the ...
06/07/2021 - In Celebration of Faith Formation Leaders
By: Deborah Kirk - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe last fifteen months have been stressful for you, your families, and your work as faith formation leaders. Everything shifted, and EVERYTHING related to your work had ...
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03/08/2021 - Post-Pandemic - The Many Faces of Faith Formation
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe question to ask is, "How do we pass on the faith knowing what we know now?"
02/19/2021 - Email Security Tips for Churches and Pastors
By: Andrew Page - Leadership DevelopmentDrew Page offers some tips for churches and pastors to protect against email scams.
02/09/2021 - Youth Ministry in Pandemic Times (and Beyond)
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesWalking alongside teens on their spiritual journeys remains our focus.
01/20/2021 - Faith Formation Classes Offer Adaptive Skills During the Pandemic
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesHow do we navigate uncertainty while ministering to our congregations?
10/07/2020 - Breathing Life Into Theories and Practices
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Leadership Development Making DisciplesHow will you most effectively walk the path of faith with your congregation?
09/17/2020 - Playlists! An Exciting Innovation
By: Karen Ziel - Leadership Development Making DisciplesPlaylists! What are they? An introduction to the concept of Playlists as a new format for shaping faith.
09/16/2020 - Boundary Training for Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Leaders
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesBlurred 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: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesIn 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: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Leadership Development Making DisciplesWe owe it to our congregations to offer high quality faith formation and youth ministries, particularly during these uncertain times.
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.
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 Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesVital 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 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 ...
11/01/2018 - How to Develop Habits for Well-Being
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesSeminaries 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 Innovation 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 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 ...
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 ...
06/25/2018 - A Reflection on the TAWFG Internship Experience
By: Amanda Simpson - Leadership Development Making Disciples" 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 - Leadership Development Making Disciples"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 Innovation Conference programming Leadership Development Making Disciples 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 Leadership Development Making Disciples"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 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...
12/01/2017 - Does Our Pastor Need a Job Description?
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation 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 Innovation Leadership Development Making DisciplesSociologist 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 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? ...
06/01/2017 - Ministry in the Midst of Tragedy
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation Justice and Witness Leadership Development Making DisciplesOn 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 - Leadership Development Making DisciplesA 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 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 ...
03/01/2017 - Guide to Good Governance
By: The Parish Paper - Church Innovation 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 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 ...
01/12/2017 - 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 Innovation 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 ...