January 29, 2025

How does your leadership, your teams, your committees prioritize time to ensure you are doing faith formation, spiritual grounding, taking time to experience deep spirituality together? Some have been accustomed to gathering outside of worship for meetings that tend to focus on work and decision making, without much more than an opening or closing prayer, perhaps a candle being lit. How often do you have a time of retreat together, perhaps offsite or even using your building as hosting location? How often do you share meals together in advance of meetings?  Ensuring there is sharing and caring builds trust, stronger relationships and allows for greater compassion towards each other. Sometimes the weight of decision-making work has made it hard to imagine prioritizing spiritual growth. Interestingly, people often report when their groups have intentional spiritual nurturing and nourishing priorities, gatherings where decisions need to be made are shorter not longer. Determine what might be the best pilots for your community of faith. Opening with a time of worship, spiritual practices or spiritual grounding and committing to a set time for each gathering, turning to business later. Perhaps meeting for business in even numbered months and doing the business on odd numbered months. Perhaps two meetings a month, one for decision making and one for spiritual activities that help people to get to know each other better, share about their faith, learn from each other. Perhaps you share reflections of God moments, perhaps lectio Divina with scripture, perhaps discussing Bible stories, using a devotional guide, sharing with music, mindfulness or contemplative prayer…? What are some ideas you find helpful or would like to learn more about?