Please contact us at: gathering_team@fccithaca.org Team Members  (left to right) Rhonda Gilmore, Cyndi Slothower, Mike Billing, Tom Roach, Ardyth Gillespie, Diane Shafer & Mary Heffner Mission Statement The mission of the Gathering Team is to identify and clarify FirstCongregational Church's vision for the future. During this the earliest phase, we are excited about exploring the Appreciative Inquiry model and are studying how to develop tools to fulfill our  mission.	Theme Song: Gather Us In Here in this place a new light is streaming, Now is the darkness vanished away, See in this space our fears and our dreamings, Brought here to you in the light of this day. Gather us in the lost and forsaken, Gather us in the blind and the lame; Call to us now and we shall awaken, We shall arise at the sound of our name. We are the young our lives are myst’ry, We are the old who yearn for your face, We have been sung throughout all of hist’ry, Called to be light to the whole human race. Gather us in the rich and the haughty, Gather us in the proud and the strong; Give us a heart so meek and so lowly, Give us the courage to enter the song.	--- Here we will take the wine and the water, Here we will take the bread of new birth, Here you shall call your sons and your daughters, Call us anew to be salt for the earth. Give us to drink the wine of compassion, Give us to eat the bread that is you; Nourish us well and teach us to fashion Lives that are holy and hearts that are true. Not in the dark of buildings confining, Not in some heaven light-years away, But here in this place the new light is shining, Now is the Kingdom, now is the day. Gather us in and hold us for ever, Gather us in and make us your own; Gather us in all peoples together, Fire of love in our flesh and our bone. Text  tune: Marty Haugen, b. 1952 © 1982, GIA Publications, Inc. Used with permission.

Report of the Interim Ministry Gathering Team

The Gathering Team was named in the fall of 2006 and given the task of doing a mission study of FCC. The Team began by studying a process called Appreciative Inquiry (AI), and used AI throughout its work, which began in January 2007. AI is an open process that assumes that the way questions are framed influences the answers received. It frames questions positively in order to elicit stories about an organization’s strengths and assets rather than its problems. Using AI techniques, Team members:

•  posed questions at gatherings of the congregation such as Lenten Dinners and Potlucks,
•  met on several occasions with Council and made regular reports,
•  met with every committee of the church,
•  sent individual Team members to speak with past members
•  and with some who are no longer active.

Some effort was also made to speak with agencies outside the church for community impressions of FCC. Based on the content of these conversations the Team wrote a Summary Report of its findings and submitted it to the congregation in October (see below). That report states that members value the excellence of preaching and programming at FCC, that we value the relationships formed here with God and one another, and that a majority of the congregation longs for increased vitality in all that we do. Many people report wanting intergenerational events and an active ministry with college students. The report is appended here with one slight addition.

An important finding has been that while FCC has many accurate impressions of its life together, it also has some inaccurate impressions that may impede future ministry. The final phase of our work is to propose new practices to help FCC become the church we think we are. These proposals have to do with

•  making it easy for visitors and new members to become active in the congregation. Currently there are both physical and cultural barriers to participation in  our church family; they are unintentional, but real, and they limit our relationships, vitality, and potential.
•  being a ready launch pad for groups within the church who are passionate about particular topics or ministries. The Poverty Discernment group is an example  of one such undertaking.
•  making a real decision about whether we want to minister to the college students who surround us. Large numbers of respondents desire an active ministry to  college students.
•  continuing to train lay leadership in the knowledge of and insistence upon the highest standards of professional practice for clergy and staff, including  boundaries awareness.

The Gathering Team has sought to couple its work with worship. Team members were commissioned for their work on Baptism of the Lord Sunday in January 2007. The Team chose a hymn, “Gather Us In,” to be used that day in worship and it has been used several times throughout the year. We solicit your continued prayers as we complete our work and pass our findings on to the Senior Pastor Search Committee and to the congregation and leadership.

Gathering Team Summary Statement

October 10, 2007

Background

Over the last year, the congregation of the First Congregational Church of Ithaca has shared their wonderful stories and impressions about our church. The Gathering Team has assembled the information and identified eight themes that were discussed with Council and at a Pot Luck gathering.  These themes provided the background for our church's new vision.  The Appreciative Inquiry process helped us identify our church’s assets and its incredible possibilities for the future.  Woven throughout these themes and stories are life-giving forces that make us feel alive and actively involved in the life of FCC.  These forces include a sense of connectedness with people in our church, a strong commitment to the life and mission of this church, a willingness to engage in the fullness of its various ministries, and a desire to maintain and expand our comfort with, and welcome of, diverse perspectives.

In this time of transition, we are moving from our past stories to new stories that lead us, with God’s grace, into a vital future.  These new stories, as described below, will be in healthy tension with our past stories as we seek to continually renew ourselves.  We describe our vision as if it is already achieved even as we recognize it is a journey rather than a single destination.  This vision is intended to be provocative, alive, and challenging as we continue our spiritual journey into the future.

Our Vision

Our church is a caring community that ministers to all ages and welcomes all who would come. Worship and Christian Education are the core of our life together, fostering our spiritual growth and inspiring our mission.  The main elements of our vision are faith, mission, and caring.*
                       

FAITH is the heart of our church.  Our worship services offer both comfort and challenge through excellence in preaching, liturgy, and music.  In praise, prayer and proclamation, we invite transformation.  Music is an important component of worship and it enables us to reach out into the community to forge ecumenical relationships with other congregations and minister to the community beyond our church.  Through worship, fellowship, and educational programs, we are stretched spiritually as we are both nurtured and challenged on our faith journey.  We grow spiritually on our collective and individual journeys and develop life practices which enrich our lives beyond our church as well. 

Based on our faith, we create a mosaic of FCC MISSION works that encompasses our multiple meanings of mission.  We celebrate individual as well as collective mission efforts to serve our local community and our world as we build intergenerational relationships and deepen our faith by putting it into action.  As a welcoming church, we work with others in our local and world communities who share our interest in service.

Our church is actively vibrant and CARING.  We welcome all into our caring and open community where we engage, value and support all members of our church, neighborhood, and local community.  We maintain a healthy balance among caring for ourselves, each other, and our local and world community. Our church is a place where anyone can come to feel the love and compassion of God and participate in our fellowship of faith and mission.  We are particularly attentive to the growth and spiritual development of our youth—from babies through college-age.  Our programs nurture and engage young children, while older youth come to church for fellowship and fun with their friends and to explore and be challenged on their faith journies.  Committed ministers, staff and lay leaders, in collaboration with youth, create programs that foster spiritual development and build meaningful relationships with each other and with adults. 

Lay leaders, pastors, and staff lead our caring community to renew our faith and enrich our mission. We also expect lay leaders to provide feedback and input for our pastors’ development and to insist that they exercise good professional boundaries. Christian leadership skills and perspectives are developed through education, experience, and prayerful reflection. At FCC, leadership is everybody’s business as we create and foster programs guided by our vision, sustained by our commitment to doing God’s work, and based on our values of connectedness, engagement, and inclusiveness. 

We proclaim the gospel of God's love and then live it. 

—from a sermon by David Kaden, September 16, 2007

* Please note: The circle graph shown here did not appear in the original report.