YOUR CHURCH NAME Parable of the LifeSaving Stations What Shore Are You On Getting to know the Congregation gathered here today Whos DROWNING in YOUr Community Two Stories of Efforts ID: 464394
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Slide1
Parable of the Life-Saving Station
YOUR CHURCH NAMESlide2
Parable of the Life-Saving StationsSlide3
What Shore Are You On?
Getting to know the Congregation gathered here todaySlide4
Who’s DROWNING
in YOUr Community?Slide5
Two Stories of Efforts at
Life-Saving Slide6
Koinonia
Building Community that Includes All at the Margins Slide7
Koinonia
Koinonia is a transliterated form of the Greek word,
κοινωνίαIt means communion, joint participation; the share which one has in anything, participation, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, etc.Slide8
Seeing Abundance in the MArgins
Luke 9:10-17
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10 On their return the apostles told Jesus all they had done. He took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida.
11When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.Slide10
12 The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.’
13But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’
Slide11
They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’
14For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’
15They did so and made them all sit down.Slide12
16
And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Slide13
“Look how the disciples try to solve the problem of scarcity. When the issue of what to do with the hungry crowd first comes up, they want to disperse the crowd, break it up into isolated individuals and send them out into the marketplace…assuming the problem of the hungry crowd could be solved by private means…Jesus countered, ‘You give them something to eat.’… He asks them, ‘What do you have? Go round and see.”… The disciples came up with five loaves of bread and two fish – surely a textbook example of scarcity. But now the ‘miracle’ begins. Jesus… takes the faceless crowd and divides it into small groups. The anonymity of the throng begins to dissolve. People begin to recognize and acknowledge friends. Community starts to happen. Then Jesus does another simple thing …. Does he bemoan the supply problem? No, he gives thanks for what there is. He knows that abundance is always present if we can act in community.”
Parker J. Palmer, “Scarcity, Abundance and the Gift of Community” Slide14
POPESlide15
Seeing Those in the Margins
What do we see in our community
?Where is hidden abundance?Slide16
Seeing Those in the Margins
Go on Pilgrimages of
PAIN and HOPESlide17
Hearing TRUTH in the Margins
Acts 2: 5-13
Slide18
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
7Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Slide19
9
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
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12
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ 13
But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’Slide21
Hearing TRUTH in the Margins
The First Miracle of the Holy Spirit was a Miracle of Hearing
How would your church be different if we saw this was our first spiritual practice?Slide22
Small Group Questions
What are
your personal current practices of seeing and hearing?Who/what does your congregation
see and hear?Slide23
Small Group Questions
Who
is not seen or heard (and possibly drowning)? What are some practices you could implement?Slide24
Sharing Our Practices Slide25
Practices for Building Community
Go Where People Are to ListenSlide26Slide27
Practices for Building Community
Be a
bundantly clear about who is welcome and express it everywhere Slide28
We
love SINGLE people, DIVORCED
people, WIDOWED and
MARRIED people.
We love GAY people and w
e love STRAIGHT people.
We
love OLD people, YOUNG people, middle-aged people and CRYING babies.
We love THIS PLACE and we love SHARING it with others.
We
love people who have not been to church in AGES and those who never miss a SUNDAY.
We
love people who are in RECOVERY and those who are still ADDICTED.
We
love people who are filled with FAITH and those who are wrestling with DOUBT
.
We
love people who
could USE A PRAYER
right now and those who PRAY
OFTEN.
We
love WASHINGTONIANS, SUBURBANITES and TOURISTS who stay in nearby hotels
.
You’re already in the building.
Why not come back and see who we really are?
Sundays at 11:00am
YOU are welcome here.
SERIOUSLY.
Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church I www.mvpumc.orgSlide29
Practices for Building Community
Involve a wide range of people in leadership and
especially worship leadership where people are visibleSlide30Slide31
Practices for Building Community
Put
as much emphasis on coffee & conversation as toiletries & towelsSlide32
Practices for Building Community
Preach & Pray people
into building communitySlide33
Practices for Building Community
Ask questions about
your practicesSlide34
Practices for Building Community
Do NOT just proclaim “come
as you are” but model itThink about your ushers when it comes to how they dress, and
act…Slide35
Practices for Building Community
Be Authentic, Vulnerable, and Trustworthy Slide36
Practices for Building Community
Decide
what you ask of visitors and what do you not ask. And train your leaders! DON’T ASK
What do you do?
Where do you live?
Other sensitive
topics
IE Do you have any kids?Slide37
Practices for Building Community
Decide
what you ask of visitors and what do you not ask. And train your leaders! DO ASK
Where are you from?
What brings you here?
Favorite Music? Favorite Foods?
Etc.
Something
you love to do?Slide38
Practices for Building Community
Value and Live MutualitySlide39
Practices for Building Community
Set expectations and practices around money and housing
Slide40Slide41
Practices for Building Community
Set Expectations for Yourself and Follow ThroughSlide42
Closing Questions
What do you imagine is God's dream for your community?
What’s one practice you could implement/ one change that you can make?Slide43
Life Saving Stations:
Not Just a Parable