Communication and Leadership - Second Meeting

The second meeting of the Implementation Committee took place today after church in the sanctuary.

While we talked about a variety of items from each of the five sections of the mission statement, the biggest theme from the meeting I think was communication with the congregation through mainly the newsletter, personal contact, and even this blog a little bit. One of the very exciting things we discussed was a spiritual gifts interview technique called P.A.C.E that Rev. Rob, Faith, and Dick H. will be bringing to the congregation over the next couple of months. These interviews will be a crucial part of the Implementation Team's one-to-one ministry to members and friends of the congregation.

The implementation committee also heard many wonderful and energetic ideas to help Open Door welcome our guests and integrate them into ministry, the first item of the new mission statement.

While Kevin and Connie are co-chairs, the whole committee is made up of dynamic lay leaders in the congregation and the Implementation committee is breaking into small subcommittees to broaden our reach and improve our effectiveness. Implementation Committee members are choosing which subcommittees they will work on and recruiting people they hope will help meet our goals. Volunteers are welcome too, OF COURSE! We need all the help we can get!

The following parts of the mission statement are followed by the ministers' names who have voiced an interest in that part of the mission:

1. following up with guests: Linda, Randy, & Connie
   
2. empowering lay people for ministry: Howard and Faith
   
3. increased visibility to our neighbors: Margaret, Faith, Linda, Connie
   
4. being a teaching church: Kevin, Rob, Faith
   
5. facilities planning and development: Connie, Linda, and others
   

Our next meeting is scheduled to fall on the 2nd Sunday of the month. Please, keep us in your prayers!

Our Mission

Mission Statement:

Open Door Metropolitan Community Church provides transformational
worship experiences, community, healing, hospitality, support and
nurture to the GLBT community and those who share our commitment to
growth in Christ, with a special outreach to young adults (25-40) and
families with children through

1. following up with guests
2. empowering lay people for ministry
3. increased visibility to our neighbors
4. being a teaching church and
5. facilities planning and development

and being ODMCC: Openly Devoted to Ministry Centered in Christ.

Our Values

Values Statement:

We believe we are called to be the proud, humble, true, and free
witnesses of God's love.

We believe in the gift of God's grace for all.

We believe that we are called to be openly welcoming to all.

We believe our community of faith is a Family of choice.

We believe in the divine connection of souls.

The Vision Comes Clearer

This blog is intended to be used by all the ministers of Open Door MCC so we can follow the implementation of the church's new vision, mission, and values statement. If you'd like to be able to post comments, please send Kevin Fries an email request at kfries@umd.edu.