Moderator Larry Cooke called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon.

He introduced the meeting by discussing its purpose. He reminded members of the Fall, 2004 meeting in which the congregation discussed their shared values, beliefs, and habits. In Summer, 2005 a postcard was sent out with the following questions to stimulate members to think about how we might express our Christian faith:

1. What are our shared Christian values, and how would we like to put them into practice as a Church?

2. What are our expectations of ourselves, and others, as members of Skyland Community Church?

3. What do we expect of our church leaders, both appointed and elected, and how do we communicate those expecations?

Today’s meeting will focus on questions 1 and 2 and the next meeting, on November 6th, will focus on question 3. The overall objective of these two meetings is to clarify who we are, what we want to be as a church, and to help us plan better.

Minister Stephen Glauz-Todrank then opened the meeting with a prayer.

There were approximately 29 people present for the meeting.

The first stage of the meeting involved the members breaking up in to 6 small groups of approximately 4 people to discuss the following question: What are our shared core values? Each group came up with two answers and then the total group helped Larry cluster the responses and label each cluster:

God

Living a life by the example of God and/or Jesus or a God of your understanding

Belief in God/thought-provoking spirituality

God’s guidance to family and everyday life

Communion/Spiritual Haven

Spiritual beacon: place to be rejuvenated spiritually

Work together in a consensual and positive way

Spiritual deepening together

Acceptance

Acceptance and respect of diversity among people: economically, politically, age, religious beliefs

Tolerance: respect of others, individuality, welcoming

Safe, affirming acceptance

For each individual: respect, tolerance, involvement

Service/Love

Reach out with love in community

Community service/involvement

Sense of community/interconnectedness

Loving ourselves and others through healing service

Then the groups were shuffled to form six new groups to discuss the following question: What do we want from our church community? Each group came up with two to three answers and then the total group helped Larry cluster the responses and label each cluster:

A Supportive Environment

Spiritual nurturing

A supportive place where it’s okay to be your true self

Love, nurturing

Inclusiveness, spiritual involvement you can’t get by yourself

Support/spiritual haven

Support individual needs of congregation: practical needs, spiritual, creative

Friendship and support

Participation

Active involvement

Involvement in welcoming the talents of all

Involvement/activities

Communication

Aware, communication about what is going on in church

Stimulation: intellectual, justice, spirituality

Spiritual Growth

Inspiring and instructive Sunday service

Spiritual Education

Environment for children to grow spiritually and feel included/valued

Boundaries

Church separate from state: spiritual and religious, moral issues are involved, but not necessarily political issues

No meeting more than 1½ hours

Then the groups were shuffled again to form six new groups to discuss the following question: What do we want our church to do or be? Each group came up with two to three answers and then the total group helped Larry cluster the responses and label each cluster:

Spiritual Haven

A spiritual haven

Growth

Increased church membership

A vital, visible, and growing spiritual presence in our community

Financial Stability

Financially solvent

Financial stability

Financial stability

Vital Programs

Make the church exciting for all ages

A high school program and a young family group

Community Outreach

A light and beacon in the community: supportive to members and non-members; outreach to younger families

Continued PR/outreach

Outreach – service and social – to community

Outreach to the mountain spiritual communities

Be a vital part of the community

Community involvement in the church

Functional Facility

A functional and evolving physical entity – facilities

Identity – Religious Freedom

A visible, liberal Christian entity in the world

Each group was asked to prioritize its top three goals for the church. The consensus of this prioritization effort developed the following three priorities for the church:

1. Spiritual haven and religious freedom

2. Community outreach and vital programming

3. Financial stability, growth, and functional facility

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