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Mcc in 2013
1. Massachusetts
Council of Churches
Annual Business Meeting
Tuesday January 21, 2014
Christ Congregational Church,
Brockton
Bishop Gayle Harris, President
Rev. Laura E. Everett, Executive
Director
@RevEverett
www.RevEverett.com
Facebook.com/Masscouncilofchurches
13. #MassChurches
Questions that I still have:
1. If not a council of mid-level judicatories, than what is
the institutional/stable expression of Christian Unity?
2. How do we move from crisis response to longer term
planning?
3. What to do about our witness on Beacon Hill?
4. What to do about interfaith dialogues?
5. How to talk about the movement between
denominations in a non-competative way?
6. How do we truly get to joint
staffing/programming/mission between the
denominations?
You know the Joke about moses and powerpoint, right? Moses only used 2 tablets, each with only 5 bullet points. http://paulgazis.com/Humor/PowerPointCommandments/PowerPointCommandments.htm
This was Moses first attempt to present the 10 commandments.Moses only used 2 tablets, each with only 5 bullet points.
Over two weekends in September- I preached at two churches 250 miles apart- West Tisbury UCC on Martha’s Vineyard & Grace Church of the Southern Berkshires. We are state wide. I’m still missing Nantucket from my goal of preaching in all 14 counties! We build bridges between congregations, and we equip congregations to build bridges beyond church walls.In 2013, 23 local churches welcomed me as their guest preacher. I led over a dozen "Social Media for Ministry" workshops. Through in-person visits to local churches and active outreach online, we are teaching and preaching connectivity in Jesus' name.Meeting with many town clergy associations- pictured- reading & Martha’s Vineyard. Next week, Milton.
2009 was the last time in MCC’s 112 year history that more than 50% of financial support came from denominations. We are coming down from “peak oil” in 2002. We are down $75k and 1.5 staff positions over last 10 years. BUT, we are doing the right things to expand our financial base. We cut staff. We have trimmed office space. We added another line of income with honoraria from my guest preaching. We’ve had a remarkable investment team making prudent decisions with our $1.4m endowment. We have cleaned and culled the database and better track our giving records. Each year that I have led MCC, we’ve gone up in total number of contributions and total number of donors!
1970- MCC had a Task force on Women. 2013- conference on gender & liturgical leadership, with some of the women who were interns in 1970!Civic Sabbath- take our consistent witness on Sabbath and find a new expression. This opinion piece had a second life as well- a WGBH radio show editor tracked me down through Twitter and invited me on the Boston Public Radio show with Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. This year’s week of prayer for Christian Unity-
Ecumenical Delegations from the Massachusetts Council of Churches were present the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem's visit, a Greek Orthodox theological conference, and each of the denominational annual meetings. Massachusetts Council of Churches President Bishop Gayle Harris journeyed from Boston to bring greetings to the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, reminding us that in Christ there is no East or West. Re-establishing relationship with the Quakers- visit with Staff in Worcester, I attended Yearly Meeting. Re-establish with the Presbytery of Boston through a major staffing transition.At each of the denominational gatherings in 2013 and have a plan to be at every one this next year- not just me, but a widening network of people taking up the representative function.
After the Boston Marathon bombings, churches across the state opened their doors to the broken and the weary. The Massachusetts Council of Churches amplified these invitations. Nearly 10,000 people read our pastoral statement online. In a time of pain and chaos, together we offered a prayerful and unified expression of God's love. Never was our public, common witness more evident to me than when I visited the Boston Globe website late on Marathon Monday. A Boston.com headline read Church Services in BostonWe’ve learned that when we act quickly and put together a resource guide, folks use it. Liturgical resources for Syria. Partner with Interfaith of Western MA- quick move to hold a clergy breakfast about guns.
Doing the hard work to reform how we govern. Passed a board covenant.Gayle to Western MA. On Sat Nov 2, MCC Vice President Anthony Barsamian, Immediate Past MCC President Rev. Joel Anderle, and Board Member Rev. Dr. Cristian de La Rosa joined me as ecumenical guests from the Armenian Orthodox, Evangelical Covenant and United Methodist churches respectively, at the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts diocesan convention to honor Bishop Tom Shaw after 20 years of leading this community.
Interfaith iftar, youngish-clergyish eventsMoses only used 2 tablets, each with only 5 bullet points.
Facebook Game “Guess the steeple” Small 30 ppl max events- Advent openhouse, youngish clergyishExperiment in one day, online only fundraising- $1280
Why Words Matter: Expansive Language & Liturgical Leadership with Episcopal Divinity School- Over 50 people from across the state from more than eight denominations gathered at First Church in Cambridge for a workshop with Episcopal Divinity Conversation with Bishop Devadhar- with BU school of TheologyEcumenical Advocacy Coalition- GBIO, B-Peace, Moses only used 2 tablets, each with only 5 bullet points.
We now serve the churches with $75k less and 1.5 staff positions fewer than we did 10 years ago.
Privledge of this ministry. Get to go from the high tech recording studio of WGBH to preaching in a 1717 meeting house. I just love it. Thank you.
