Change is an element of any congregation which survives to serve more than a single generation. Your congregation contracted this firm to give you tools to examine the nature and identity of Westminster Presbyterian, but also to discover the congregation's environment. Congregations are centers of service, but what and how to serve needs to be informed by a realistic understanding of the context in which your congregation lives. This report will outline strategies by which you can understand the resources at your disposal; how you use those resources and the process you use to govern; and the social and cultural context of your congregation.
[...] What is white privilege you might ask, and Peggy McIntosh has an answer for you. White privilege is, invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.”[7] What special privileges do your congregants have in this region? Are they followed by the police when they drive through the region to get to church? [...]
[...] For example, studies on Hispanic immigrants show that, “whether Catholic or Protestant, tend to be conservative on issues of sexual morality but liberal on issues of the economy and minority rights. They are less likely than African Americans to identify with the Democratic Party, but most vote Democratic.”[12] This could fit within the context of your congregation with the focus you have on workers' rights and civil equality. The study results point to an understanding that, immigrants bring a more communal, less individualistic perspective to our society. [...]
[...] Is Westminster genuinely open to change? It is within you to analyze and study. Sociologist Scott Thumma explains that a person does not need to be a psychiatrist to reflect on her or his emotional state, and neither does s/he need to be a sociologist to study the congregation's dynamics, healthy, and vitality.[1] Story Telling Before Westminster looks to the area around itself, it must look within itself. What are the stories Westminster tells about itself? As generations age, and Westminster is a graying congregation, the story of its past, its narrative strengthens. [...]
[...] Look for broad and recurring themes and patterns to construct the values of the congregation.[4] Tex Sample describes how the metanarrative of the working class plays out. sings their stories, displays their emotions, manifests their tastes, struggles with their spirituality, speaks to the structure of their work, names the vulnerabilities and celebrations of their loves.”[5] When you ask about the ritual work of the congregation, listen for the tone of the stories, the words describing their emotions, pay attention to how things are said as much as what is said. [...]
[...] "Ecology: Seeing the Congregation in Context." In Studying Congregations: A New Handbook, ed. Nancy Tatom Ammerman, Jackson W Carroll, Carl S Dudley, and William McKinney. Nashville: Abingdon Press Kujawa-Holbrook, Sheryl A. A House of Prayer for All Peoples. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute Leong, Pamela. "Religion, Flesh, and Blood: Re-Creating Religious Culture in the Context of HIV/AIDS." Sociology of Religion 67, no (2006): 295-311. Levitt, Peggy. The Transnational Villagers. Berkeley: University of California Press McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. [...]
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