SONKA News

Members and friends of Shiloh Church have very likely noticed that all sorts of information is now posted every week in Shiloh's "Information Gallery." Among the items posted across from the all-member mailbox system are notes and letters that Shiloh receives from persons and agencies in our community and around the world, the Conference newsletter, fliers that feature upcoming events, and the weekly Association newsletter, "Snippets."  I hope that everyone who is part of the life of Shiloh Church avails themselves of the information that is posted. Some of it is very important.

Shiloh Church is an active part of the Association. Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association (SONKA) is a joint ministry of 80-some churches that are located from Sidney in the north to miles within Kentucky in the south and from the Indiana State line to the west and nearly half-way across Ohio in the east. SONKA is a spectrum of traditional/progressive congregations, Evangelical and Reformed/Congregational Christian backgrounds, large/small communities, diverse identities, variant theological perspectives and different make-up. We are unified by shared ministry, common vision and mutual labor.

Several recent events define our shared Association ministry. One of those items is the retirement of Association Minister, Ruth Brandon. Ruth has done a fabulous job of helping the Association be a better organized and much more unified body of Christ. Ruth has served us remarkably well, and we wish her the best in what we hope is many years of happy retirement.

Another of those important recent events is the calling of a new Interim Association Minister. While I am not certain that I am at liberty to announce the name of the person called to the position, I can certainly state that the Association is in fine hands, and continues to be served by excellent leadership. There will be no gap in wonderful service to and in SONKA.

Yet another key to the ministry of the Association is the work of the Strategic Planning Team. After more than six months of work, this team is now prepared to begin listening sessions with every congregation of the Association. After that initial phase of hearings, the planning process will shift to Association Teams and Clusters, Authorized Ministers and the Ohio Conference. The content of the hearings will determine to a great extent any new formulation of Association structure.

Members of the Strategic Planning team are committed to helping SONKA be more effective in working with the ministries of our local churches, our Teams and Clusters (in whatever form they may take), our authorized ministers and whatever judicatory bodies SONKA may minister.

The current Association structure, now about seven years old, marked a step toward strengthening the ministry of the Association by strengthening its component parts. Whatever form the Association might take in this structural revision is a further step in that direction. The ministry of the Association IS the ministry of its component parts. The Association is the tide upon which all component parts rise. The process of strengthening the Association, then, lies in strengthening its component parts.

The means of strengthening the component parts of the Association rests in our ability to form a network of shared strengths and challenges. The Association is best understood as a network matrix through which the component parts of the Association are strengthened, not "from above" but "throughout." The resulting structure will, hopefully, reflect the already-existing strengths and challenges of our congregations, teams, clusters, authorized ministers and Conference.

The process will necessarily impact the search for a new Association Minister. For whom we search in leadership is very much determined by what the Association requires to achieve the network matrix by which each part is best served. 

This is new and exciting work. It reflects an innovative direction. I hope that you will join me in being excited about the potential of this new direction, not just for the Association but for all of its component parts.

See You Sunday!