Walker Center October Retreat A Day of Reflection, Celebration & Renewed Commitment to the New Century Vision by Patrice Ficken

Thirty-five representatives of Council, Deacons, Trustees, and members of the congregation gathered at the Walker Center this past October to take some time to reflect on the New Century Report, which was approved by our congregation in February of 1996.

After opening worship, we met together in small groups to gauge progress towards each of the six major New Century goals, to highlight areas that still needed attention, and to suggest priorities for the coming year.

What were some of the groups' findings and recommendations as a result of this review? In general, all were impressed with the significant progress that has been achieved, specifically:

• Progress towards stabilizing the church's finances;
• A more "welcoming" atmosphere for visitors, and significant progress to increase and retain membership (thanks to the hard work of the Membership committee);
• A stronger sense of community as a result of Caritas area activities and other Deacons initiatives;
• Initiation of the By-Law effort;
• A vibrant music program and growing volunteer choir and bell choir;
• Creative efforts to increase participation in the life of Old South through the Artists Faire, Coffee Houses, Theatre at Old South;
• Increased outreach participation through our partnership with Habitat for Humanity and other local churches and nonprofit organizations;
• Increased opportunities for adult ed. and participation in worship;
• Continued growth and vitality of Christian Ed. for the youth of OSC.

We all agreed that every committee and dozens of volunteers have built a solid, new foundation for our church. We also agreed that there is still work to do and challenges to meet. In the box below is a sampling of the groups' suggestions and recommendations. As you can see by these thoughtful suggestions, the Retreat attendees worked hard! So what's next? The staff and several committee chairs are already acting upon several of these recommendations. The Long-Range Planning Committee continues to coordinate priorities with committee chairs to help move ahead these suggestions within the context of the New Century Report.

Also the Council has responded by unanimously endorsing a Church Theme for 1999: Reaching In, Reaching Out — Within Our Walls, Outside Our Doors. This theme reflects the need for all of us to extend a welcoming hand to all who visit Old South Church as well as for each of us to commit our time, our hearts, our resources to all people in need — both within our church community and beyond.

Remember, Old South Church needs you! If any of the suggestions below spark an interest — let a staff member, Deacon or Council member know! Or, please feel free to contact me directly via e-mail at <pficken@jacobson.com> or send correspondence for the Long Range Planning Committee, c/o the Narthex Office at Old South Church. U

Worship

• Continue to involve lay members in worship. Strive to include more young people in the worship service.
• Increase frequency of communion.
• Consider variations in worship format - such as including Theatre at Old South productions that have a spiritual component, etc.

Music

• Consider a composer series that highlights the composer's life, beliefs, etc.
• Continue summer choir.
• Increase participation of instrumentalists in music program.

Christian Education

• Rebuild/revitalize the Gordon Library by:
• Starting a book reading club;
• Promoting adult bible study from the pulpit;
• Establishing a children's library.

Financial Matters

• Regarding the sale of 294 Washington Street, consider the establishment of an ad hoc committee to decide how, when and where any allocations will be made:
• Capital Expenditures vs. Endowment income;
• Provisions for yearly review.
• Education the congregation regarding current endowment and
investment policies (existing and to be created):
• Publicize Deacons socially responsible endowment policy;
• Yearly Report/Accountability of investment of funds;
• Relate this to current income, pledging, rental income, etc.
• Stewardship and Finance committees- encourage partnership of purpose and goals. Timing of stewardship campaign and budget requests need to be coordinated for the benefit of all

Outreach

• Increase participation in established outreach groups, building on the outreach committee's compilation of member involvement in outside outreach/volunteer activities.
• Build contact lists of visitors involved in outside (non-worship) activities. Build a mailing list around interest areas - such as theater, music, etc. and send out invitations to people to attend these events. Also follow-up with them to see what they thought about the program.
• Invitation to college students for increased participation in service projects.
• Coordinate with outreach programs of other churches - try to pool resources, efforts. The current partnership with the Covenant and our youth program is a good example.

Organization & Governance

• By-law Review Task Force should consider, get input from the congregation, propose a recommendation regarding the following:
• New Century recommendation to make sure that all fellowship groups have a formal tie to Council Deacons, or some major body;
• The issue of Leadership transition - whether there should be vice- chairs on committees;
• Term limits for committee chairs;
• Need to address how do we give a "voice to the disaffected" within our congregations - through some bylaw mechanism;
• How do we build in flexibility so that By-laws really reflect what's going on in the church right now.

Membership/Community Concerns

• Nurturing/Caring _focus especially on those who have left us. Reach out to them in an intentional manner, to find out why their needs are not being met and to try to make changes to meet these needs. This effort needs to happen _ over & above Cartitas efforts _ such as through the use of Visiting Teams. Find a way to address needs & to translate member interests to the appropriate group within the church
• Fellowship Hour _ Consider trying to identify visitors _ through a tag on their nametag or special color. All of us need to extend welcome to visitors. Expand awareness among the congregation of all the things that various groups are doing_be it in Leadership, Operations, Religion & Arts, etc. and to recognize these efforts more publicly.
• Need a clear statement and better communication regarding the availability of pastoral staff to help those in need.
• All of us need to come together and cosponsor events that are interactive and intergenerational in nature. Also to make clear that all are welcome to attend group meetings, events, etc.

Communication

• Raise the awareness within the congregation of all the publications that are available. All of us need to work harder to communicate in a more personal and intentional manner. Word of mouth is perhaps the most powerful communication.

• Expand our external focus _liaison to other external publications that could publicize Old South's mission, activities, etc. Some ideas:
-- Occasional articles in the media_Back Bay Courant/Pew News;
-- Cultivate contacts outside of OSC.

• Utilize our "site" better. Lots of people walk by Old South without being aware of its existence. Some possibilities are:
-- Consider a historic plaque for on the Dartmouth Street side;
-- Better Lighting;
-- Become more of a presence on that corner with activities on the sidewalk such as the ice cream social, mini-TAOS events, etc.;
-- New sandwich board to hold an enlarged Calendar for the week and a possibly a photograph of the sanctuary _ so people would know what it's like inside.

• Finally, make sure that people who are drawn to OSC can get in:
-- Saturday and Sunday hours;
-- Docent Tours reinstated;
-- Maximize historical connection;
-- Update publications in the narthex;
-- Consider publishing a self-guided tour of Old South. +