Number of youth classes: 2

8. Programs designed for evangelism/outreach to the community that the congregation supports and participates in and future growth potential. The congregation historically has not felt comfortable with aggressive evangelism efforts, although it participated in the Life program back in the early ‘90s when it was introduced to congregations. It is most supportive of efforts directed toward making people that find us feel comfortable and welcome.  The congregation optimizes access to newcomers via (1) Personal contacts, yellow pages, church website (2) A newcomer packet of key information which includes an SCC brochure, newsletter, church covenant, etc. and, (3) Offering an annual inquirers class.  Over the last nine years average attendance has more than doubled.  Recently an influx of people, without Anabaptist roots, from the community has begun to attend and seek membership with the congregation.  Those individuals have often been more outward in inviting their friends because of what they have found in the group. We anticipate an increase in congregational size if SCC remains a vital, living Christian community.  The reason we believe this is that Ann Arbor has a large population turnover, both short-term students and longer term employees of area Universities and industries.  Many of these people are looking for faith communities. For the congregation, one of the biggest challenges for the next decade will be to preserve the strong sense of community within the group while welcoming and incorporating newcomers.

9.  Music

Choirs

    Name of choir: Seasonal choirs

1.  Mission of the congregation with respect to what characterizes the church’s ministry such as overseas missions, evangelism, peace and justice issues, special ministry to aging, students, families, etc.  The congregation does not have a formal statement of mission and purpose, nor has there been a formal process of goal setting.  However, in focus group discussions on these issues in early 2001, two major ideas emerged as holding importance to many within the congregation.  (1) The formation of faith and practice in our children.  This is highly valued and is carried out through the Sunday School program, the mentoring program, youth group and the involvement of children in worship. (2) Providing a community where members are spiritually nurtured and renewed for their work in the world; also a “haven” where one can experience love, belonging and rest.  In an urban community where many people are in transition, it is important to have a community of faith, rooted in Anabaptist history, that energizes people for community service and peacemaking.  We believe members should challenge and support each other in areas of faithful living, moral and ethical issues, peace and justice concerns.  We sense a need to achieve a better balance between “being” and “doing”, and to experience a deeper spirituality.  Specific areas of outreach and ministry are delineated in Section B9 above.

2.  Congregation’s view of the pastor’s role in the congregation and special gifts in ministry it envisions for its pastor.    Our pastor will journey with us as we seek, discover, and act on God's yearning for our congregation.  We are a congregation with many talents and abilities and would like our pastor to lead and inspire us to use these gifts fully. With respect to style of leadership, we envision a pastor who (1) Facilitates change and growth (2) Helps set direction and clarify vision and mission (3) Is a good facilitator in decision making, helping to lead us to consensus  (4) Possesses good leadership and organizational skills, and a high degree of flexibility.  (5) Possesses an ability to influence and inspire following without being autocratic or forceful, and comfort in delegating authority and tasks to others. Specific ministerial job expectations include (1) Helping to provide creative and meaningful worship.  It is not our expectation that the pastor delivers a sermon every Sunday, but rather encourages congregational participation in worship services. (2) Our pastor needs to be available to everyone in the congregation.  He/she also needs to be willing to meet us where we are on our individual spiritual journeys.  Recognizing where each person is individually is as important as where the congregation is corporately. This availability also includes our youth. We currently have well-run programs in place for the youth (mentoring, youth group, Sunday School), so our expectation is that the pastor maintains an interest in these, but not run them.  The youth have expressed an interest in having the pastor "check in" with them from time to time and include them in the life of the church. Importantly, the pastor is actively involved in the process of formal church membership, including leading seekers/catechism classes and conducting baptisms.  (3) With a constant influx of students from the University of Michigan and young adults moving to the area for jobs, we expect the pastor to give time and attention to their transitions in life and issues important to them. (4) It is important to us that our pastor spends time working in our community.  We see our pastor as someone who is involved in local ecumenical and interfaith efforts, which promote peace, reconciliation, and social justice concerns.  In so doing, he/she helps to provide us with opportunities to serve.  We see this as an important part of our Christian lives and want it to be a focal point within our congregation. Congregation’s expectations on how the pastor represents the congregation. The pastor is an effective spokesperson and advocate for the congregation and accurately represents its views, whether they be at the local level (interfaith and community activities) or the state and national level (district, area conference meetings, national denominational conferences).

    3.  Congregation’s important overarching theological commitments.  As a congregation, the theological orientation of most individuals has been molded     from childhood by Anabaptist influences.  Nevertheless, there is significant variation of viewpoints (e.g., “no credal statements” within the Church of the                 Brethren) on how we live out Anabaptist tenets as the congregation has “offspring” of most of the historic groups, including Mennonite, General Conference         Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren, Brethren in Christ, and Church of the Brethren denominations.  We are also attracting increasing numbers of individuals that     are “new Anabaptists”, with roots outside of the believer’s church tradition.  Yet, within this milieu, we strive to adhere to certain core beliefs including (1)             Mutual accountability in the face of cultural values that stress democracy, independence, competition, etc. (2) The essence of the gathered community that             provides nurturing, stability, and spiritual renewal in the face of rapid change. (3) A commitment to pacifism and social justice modeled by Jesus (4) An                 emphasis on “simple living” and “right living”  (5) Servanthood, i.e., trying to practice love, respect, tolerance, and humility in our relationships, and (6) A view     that God is accessible to each of us anywhere.

    4.  Congregational self-assessment of its spiritual and emotional health, e.g, morale, quality of relationships among members, openness to new ideas and ways of doing things. There is broad consensus that the congregation is in good spiritual and emotional health and that relationships among members are generally harmonious. There are, of course, some who struggle with spiritual questions and issues of emotional health. Shalom Community is a sincerely friendly group of people, who take seriously the command to love one another. There are many thoughtful and sensitive listeners who pay attention to building and maintaining relationships, and to reaching out to others in the congregation. The congregation does a fairly good job at disagreeing with each other and yet remaining in good fellowship. While openness to new ideas and ways of doing things is inherently a challenge to humankind, the congregation as a whole embraces thoughtful, deliberate change.  However, we are not always in complete agreement what change should look like.  For example, there has not been full agreement on the question of ownership of a meeting house, nor on the “inward/outward” balance of ministerial/congregational mission.

    5.  Changes and trends envisioned for the congregation over the next five years. Our decision-making processes and leadership structure will need to evolve to better accommodate and serve a likely larger congregation.  For over 10 years, we have been in transition from a small group house-church process to a much larger group process, and this will require us to change our leadership structures to fit our size and shape. The role and dynamic of small groups within the larger group context may become a more important part of this restructuring. The issue of ownership of a permanent meeting house will also likely command considerable attention, and will require making some major decisions as a group. Toward coming to decision on these and other issues, we envision our pastor facilitating good communication in the midst of differing viewpoints, lend insight and alternative strategies toward bringing about group consensus, and help the congregation plan for and envision its future mission.  Lastly, our demographics will change with a greater number of members populating the higher age bracket as a core of people approaches upper middle age and retirement. This will result in the likely departure of some senior members to other retirement locations, some taking leaves of absence for service projects, and a greater probability that some may face more serious health issues. We expect to continue having an influx of young adults and families with small children. Thus, our pastor and other leaders in the congregation will have opportunity to minister to a broader mix of people including younger people who join the congregation while pursuing university studies, those in retirement, and a wide range in between.

Last updated: August 11, 2001
This page maintained by Curtis Weaverdyck cweave@umich.edu