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Our congregation has embarked on a journey of discovery to develop and implement a Spirit-led vision for the future of Grace. To help us move through a structured process of introspection and discovery, Grace has partnered with Church Innovations, a not-for-profit consulting firm dedicated to renewing the Church's focus on God's mission in the world.
The project began with The Church Future Finder Report, an in-depth study of the demographics of Grace and the surrounding communities. Mark Bouman, a member of our congregation, expanded this information into a revealing portrait of Grace as an epicenter of Chicago land’s population and church activity in his report Our Towns.
In October of 2008, Grace embarked on the second phase of the project, interviews with Grace members. These interviews and feedback from the reading team at Church Innovations culminated in the Congregational Discovery Report. The team of interviewers also prepared a Summary Report for the congregation
The Discovery committee is now asking the entire congregation for their insight and reflections. You are invited to read, consider, and respond to these reports. They are available in binders in the church library as well as here on the web. Then share your ideas and reflections with other Grace members and with the committee that is leading this process. You can do this in one of the following ways:
- * Come to the Sunday morning Adult Education sessions on July 12, and August 9, 23, and 30. At each session we will consider two of the eight interview questions listed in the Congregational Discovery Report.
- * Come to a special meeting at Grace on Sunday, August 16, from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. The session will being with the service of Evening Prayer in the sanctuary, and will continue in the third-floor Commons. The discussion will be facilitated by our consultants from Church Innovations, Dr. Patrick Keifert, professor of theology at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Pastor John Mueller Nowell, the director of Church Innovations.
- * Respond in writing. Consider the questions on this form. Then email the committee at discoveringgodsgrace@gmail.com
- or return the form to Grace's reception desk.
- * Speak with one of the committee members: Roberta Gillespie, Bryan Bernard, Christie Pascavis, Claudia Wood, Phil Jimenez, Gick Schmidt, Mark Bouman, and Markus Sleuwen.
We each bring the unique perspectives of our individual faith journeys to our membership in the body of Christ at Grace. Who we are, how we grow and live out our faith in the years to come, is a calling to mission for all of us.
