Crucial Conversation

On this coming Saturday, march 10, leadership from the Associations of the Ohio Conference will gather in Columbus to begin some very important conversations. These upcoming conversations come from an initiative within the Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association (SONKA), of which Shiloh Church is a part. SONKA's Strategic Planning Team has been working for months to help the Association shape a thorough self-study that would, hopefully, result in reforming the ministries, structure and organization of the Association.

The work was progressing well, when, several weeks ago, Ruth Brandon, current Association Minister, announced that she would resign her position on June 30, 2012. As the Strategic Planning Team continued its work, and as it called upon Bob Molsberry, Ohio Conference Minister, for guidance, the team discovered that four of the five Ohio Associations were in nearly the same place as SONKA. Vacant or losing leadership, the Associations now find themselves struggling for dollars and vitality.

Since most of the Associations join SONKA in transition, and since Association leadership recognizes that this is a transitional period in the life of our churches, denominations and middle judicatories, this time calls for us to be in serious dialogue about the models/structures/organization of the Ohio Conference and Associations.

The conversations are not new. Structural reformation was suggested about a decade back, but was never acted upon. In that attempt, the planning group recommended that Ohio break into three regional Conferences, similar to the model used in Pennsylvania, around population and centers of church concentration.

The present conversations are likely to be multi-dimensional. Certainly, the team will consider the polity of the United Church of Christ, where the local church is the basic unit of power and authority. The conversations will have to consider the roles of Conference and Association middle judicatories, examine redundancy, potency, and the impact of those ministries on our local congregations. Of course, the conversations will necessarily extend to the national/denominational level, where we will have to consider wider church impact and the possibilities that lie within organizational change.

Is this a time for the local churches and Associations/Conferences of the United Church of Christ to boldly pursue organization along the lines of The Progressive Church Movement? What about those congregations that are not currently pursuing growth or expanded ministries? What of those congregations that are in the process of dying? What kinds of structures, initiatives, programs or approaches might serve them? Is there a different way of doing the business of the Church, one which meets the needs of our local congregations in the midst of changing culture?

I am happy to be a part of these conversations, representing SONKA and Shiloh Church. What we decide now has the potential to impact our local churches, our middle judicatories, and our denomination for a long time to come. Pray for wisdom and insight into God's will. These conversations may be the beginning of something new.

See You Sunday!