Meet the Future Boldly!

​“The church of Christ, in ev’ry age, beset by change, but Spirit-led, must claim and test its heritage, and keep on rising from the dead.” (ELW 729—Fred Pratt Green)
 
Change is afoot. And one of our Synod’s benchmarks addresses change: “Meet the future boldly!” The Synod staff are committed to working with your congregation as you, too, meet the future boldly, whether it is forming a call committee, writing a mission statement, starting a new emphasis, evaluating your ministry. 
 
 For Congregations:  One resource that we are providing, thanks to NRIT, is a series of short videos to help orient new and continuing church council members. "Serving on the Congregation’s Council” is available on the NRIT website (www.nrit.org, or see article below). You can show all five sessions in a retreat. Or you can use one per meeting, as board development. The sessions are:
 
 

• Introduction—NRIT Director Jenny Kunka
• The Constitution: How it Informs Your Work—Bishop Jessica Crist
• Leading Effective Meetings—Pastor Jason Asselstine, Associate to the Bishop
• Being Church Together—Pastor Peggy Paugh Leuzinger, Director for Evangelical Mission
• Connections—Crist, Asselstine, Paugh Leuzinger
• A Walk Through the Synod Website—Colter McCarty, Director for Information Technology

 
For the Montana Synod:  The Research and Evaluation Team of the ELCA is assisting the Montana Synod with a survey to help determine the future direction of the Montana Synod, given the election of a new bishop. The survey is for individual members of congregations to reflect on their congregational hopes and experiences, and their hopes for the synod as we meet the future boldly. An email was sent to every congregation and every rostered leader, with an invitation to fill it out, and to share the link electronically with members of the congregation.
 
In order to reach congregation members who are not comfortable with online surveys, Research and Evaluation will be sending out paper copies of the survey to congregation who do not opt out by today, Wednesday, January 30.  The hope is to turn around by March 1, and then give feedback back to the Synod Council and the Synod about what kinds of things the members of the Montana Synod are looking for in new leadership. We should be able to share the results at the Pastoral Conference at Chico this year, as well as in the Synod’s enews. I hope that you will participate.
We are stronger together as we meet the future boldly!
 
Jessica Crist, Bishop