Transition Times: Asset Mapping Produces Results!!!!

TRANSITIONAL TIMES

November 2006 edition

On October 15, thirty-plus congregants joined together to create a list of congregational assets. When we think of assets, we usually think of financial matters. Really, defining an asset is pretty broad. The list below is gathered from the various table groups working to sketch out the various assets the congregation has in the broad categories of assets that are physical, individual, associational, institutions, economic. (We are indebted to the work of Luther K. Snow and his book The Power of Asset Mapping: How Your Congregation Can Act on Its Gifts, published by the Alban Institute).

Just marvel at what about three dozen folks generated in about twenty minutes of brainstorming together:

Congregational, Church building, community resource, ways to connect, AA, dinner, cloggers, tag sales, Bible school, pumpkin carving, minister, location, beautiful building, Singing, Sending cards to shut ins, Organizational, Gift with children, Carving, Cooking, Hospitality, Supportive, Listening, Teaching, Nursing, Social work, Computer, Video, Photography, People with money, Knitting, Reading, quilting, Nursing homes, flowers, cards, visitations, Legion, Veterans, Church Women United, RSVP, NASW, NSO, Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, Elks, Moose, Legion, SVMC, VNH, VNA, RSVP, SVCU, Hospice, quilts, new baby of First Baptist, babysitting, parents’ night out, caroling, hymn sing, refreshments, list of volunteers, shoveling, raking leaves, Family, seniors, mentally ill, welcome center-tourist, schools, Delta Kappa Gamma, VRTA, Red Cross Blood Mobile, SVMC, neighbors, ABW, Woodford Cemetary Board, pets, Ham radio operators, Boards: Missions, Trustees, Missions, Volunteering within the church, transportation, welcome center, mentors, town of Bennington, BISCHCA, State of Vermont, Federal government, taxes, banks, sanctuary, chapel, kitchen, Colgate Hall, classrooms, location, handicapped-accessible (can be improved), church facilities (room to expand), budgeting, carpentry, cooks, teachers, administrating, interactions, knowing others, nursing skills, organizational skills, technology, faithfulness, horses/animals/skills, industrial, handyman, custodial, patience, willingness to accommodate, helping other groups, Red Cross shelter, Evening coffee shop, cooking class, poetry slam, play, building has lots of space for activities, dances, endowment account, (to get mission started), building up Sunday school, extra buildings, kitchen, Colgate hall, playroom, lounge, chapel, sanctuary, organ, congregation, location, business neighbors, talented people, landscaping, shut-ins, community-at-large, needy people, Red Cross (blood mobile), AA, Cloggers, Sunrise (Day Care Center), Animal shelters, hospital, RSVP, ABC VT/NH Region, UCS, organizational skills (to help with events), male cooks, singers (choir), musical talent, people-orientated people, teachers (education), animal care, nurses, crafts—knitting, individual missions (White Cross), child care workers, rummage sale, dinners, food vending, endowment, account, salaries, mission, building-up keep, fellowship fund, food pantry, church building, concerts, etc., Nichols Building (activities?), transportation (for shut-ins, for food, and projects made by others), ideas, people who can call others (shut-ins), clean ups, gardening, Interfaith Council (food/fuel fund, etc.), Red Cross and other community groups, meeting space for more groups, salaries, fuel, upkeep, products and literature for programs, apartment (former Gibney property), beautiful building, heat, Kitchen, Colgate Hall, lounge, chapel, organ, classrooms, nursery (babysitting), handicap accessibility, locality (Main Street), greeters, choir, Coffee hour hosts, Sunday School superintendent, Sunday School teachers, minister, scripture readers, janitor, callers (shut-in volunteers), deacons, trustees, secretary, treasurer, tellers, picture taking, sewing, White Cross helpers, help out for suppers, singing, teaching Sunday School, cooking for suppers, sending cards, good callers, good hostess, visiting shut-ins, flower arranging, Senior Center, Weight group, Bridge Club, Sewing Club, Al-Anon group, Bible Study, make lunches for homeless, more suppers for income, sewing (banner making), mitten tree, flower arrangement, gardening flowers, trees (decorated), soup and sandwiches (1 day/week), BYF, chapel

The second step of asset mapping is finding creative configurations for these assets to be woven together. The idea is to find things that do not readily appear to be related. For example, we could look at “male cooks, Colgate Hall, and dinners” and think “okay, we’ll get the men to cook something.” But throw in another asset like “shut-ins”, and suddenly, men are baking muffins for shut-ins. (Or more creatively,, we could reverse the order, and invite the shut-ins to bake muffins for church events. Bertha Greenawalt’s gift for sharing and cooking would suddenly spring to mind.) The table groups came up with some great ideas: a sewing/quilting workshop, using the church facility for Red Cross disaster relief (in addition to the traditional Red Cross blood mobile), inviting our children to help put on a Grandparents’ Day opportunity, inviting our elderly congregants to programming at the church on a regular basis, serving soup and sandwiches to the homeless on a weekly basis, holding a blessing of the animals service, creating a collection of animal care products for needy people, using endowments to create mission, providing tax help preparation through volunteers, knitting or quilting blankets/quilts for hospice or new babies, babysitting, Night-out for parents on Fridays, caroling, list of volunteers to do repairs/shoveling/raking leaves. Here’s a challenge: If you look at the big list of assets, what interesting arrangement of assets do you see? Remember, the trick is to shy away from the readily obvious pairings or joining of assets. Think laterally!

The third step is implementation! We hope that this exercise in asset mapping helps us see that indeed, the glass is half-full! We have A LOT TO GIVE for a congregation that might otherwise see itself as “small” or “diminished” or “aging.” You are invited as congregants, lay leaders, and persons invested in the future of First Baptist to start birthing new ministries that play our strengths. How can our 2007 calendar, budget, and ministry/mission focus implement some of the ideas generated above? How can we build a vision for 2007 that presumes growth, energy, and new heights?

The transition team invites your dialog and creativity as we plan for the future of First Baptist. We are indeed celebrating the journey, dreaming about the future, and becoming a people on the move!

Transitional Times

Recounting our History, and Accounting Our Membership and Assets: Why all three will see us to a new day in the life of this church!

WHAT A WONDERFUL HISTORY!

Sunday, September 24, 2006, the congregation participated in the first of three “Transformational Journey” event. The first event featured a timeline exercise, as we recalled the origins of the church (established in 1827) and the 19th century (including a rare photograph of Rev. R.M. Luther, minister in the 1870s on Easter Sunday morning and an equally rare treasure newly acquired: a page taken from an 1877 architectural journal article discussing the architectural design of the present church, built in 1857). We spent a lot of our time exploring the “contemporary” era of the church, talking about the life of the congregation from the 1947 retirement of Dr. W. G. Towart (pastor for an astonishing 33 years!) to present day (including memories of times spent with Revs. Spencer, Payne, LaBombard, Miller, and Drosky and the interims Revs. Robbins, Lane, Narowitz, and Hardy who served in transitional times). The congregation has had times of challenge, grace, frustration, and peace. And we are grateful for the many stories shared on September 24th and invite the storytelling to continue!

COUNTING OUR MEMBERSHIP

The board of deacons is asking your assistance in updating our church membership information. Recently the church acquired a software package called “Church Windows” that will GREATLY enhance our abilities to carry out office work, pastoral care, and help us better communicate within the church’s community. Please take time to fill out the form located in this newsletter and submit it as soon as possible to the church office. To misquote a gospel hymn, When the roll is called “down yonder,” we hope you’ll be there in our database!

LEARNING HOW TO DO ASSET MAPPING

On Sunday, October 15, 2006, we will try our hand at a new method in getting churches to try new things and dream boldly. “Asset Mapping” is a methodology commonly used in a variety of settings to help people look at the possibilities that they have already with things in hand. Assets are usually thought of as “financial”, but really a congregation has assets in its people and their giftedness, its ministries, its physical plant, its financial and spiritual resources, its affiliations (community, denominational, ecumenical, etc.), its institutions (we support seminaries, universities, regional organizations, camp/conference centers, etc.). In other words, we start looking for ways to say that the glass is half full. Congregations in crisis or transition usually look at why they are feeling “half empty” (stagnate, dull, stuck). Asset mapping helps us start seeing the blessings in our midst.

As part of our worship service, we will ask people to get into groups and think as creatively as possible. Take for example our sanctuary. We could think of it as “huge and too big for a smaller congregation” or “hard to heat in the winter with fuel oil costs being so high.” Through using asset mapping’s way of looking at the sanctuary, we could see it as

“seats 325 persons”,

“excellent acoustics”,

“great Wicks pipe organ,”

“right on Main Street.”

Put these things together, and it strikes me that we could have an organ recital during a public event like Mayfest, which was right on our front lawn for part of the festivities this year. Asset mapping helps us see our building not as a millstone but as a place ready for mission! What could we do if we ponder something well known to us: our congregation, our building, our location, our financial/spiritual resources, even ourselves.

A little advance homework: As you think about the congregation, the church, and her ministries, can you also think of yourself? What are YOUR assets (spiritual gifts, skills, abilities, passions)? Each of us brings something unique to the community of disciples called First Baptist Church of Bennington. Can you dare to see new ways? Growing our membership and continuing the ministries of this church depend on our willingness to look at our assets and utilize them well!

History Event

We held the first event related to the Intentional Interim Process. With interim ministry, the congregation is asked to look at a variety of issues, including its history as a church. We held worship in our fellowship hall, using a variety of methods to help stir memories. From an 1870s era photo of Easter Sunday morning to photos of a clown ministry from the 1990s, First Baptist was reminded of the various ministries, personalities, and yes, times of "high" and "low" points alike.

Elsewhere on the website (under the "sermons" link) is Rev. Hugenot's sermon from the morning. Here are some photos of the timeline setup by Carolyn Peckham, transition team member. Together with Greg Lewis and the minister, Carolyn assembled a framework to help the congregation go through the "modern" period of its history. More insight about this process will be forthcoming.

Three Big Events this Fall---Transition Times Sept 06

TRANSITION TIMES

As the church looks forward, we have to look backwards and at our feet
first!

What???

First Baptist’s transition team (Greg Lewis, Cindy Watson, Carolyn
Peckham, Lisa Flynn, and Jean Hoag) challenge First Baptist to get behind
some special events prepared to help First Baptist move upwards and
onwards in the journey of faith. The transition team offers three
occasions this fall to celebrate the faithfulness and increase the
ministries of First Baptist.

Mark on your calendars right now the following dates: Sunday, September
24, Sunday, October 15, and Sunday, November 12, 2006. (What? You’re
already at church on these days! Great! Then you won’t miss these
exciting events!)

On these three Sundays, we will host a two hour event each time that will
help First Baptist look at the transitional and transformational work of
improving its ministries. Each event will begin at 9:30 AM with a special
worship time that will lead us into the events that we have planned.

On Sunday, September 24, 2006, we will hold a “History” event. We want
the congregation to think about its history together, constructing a
timeline that will help the congregants all have a common narrative about
what has happened in the life of the church. We will be covering the time
of 1950 to 2006, asking people to contribute “key events” in the life of
the church. We want to hear about “the good, the bad, and the Baptists”
and help one another know the story of First Baptist. We invite anyone
with memorabilia (pictures, old programs, VBS crafts from
yesteryear—anything!) to bring these things along for display in Colgate
Hall. We want to hear about what made First Baptist hum, sigh, laugh, and
cry over the years! Anyone from the oldest members to the newest members
alike need to be at this event! This event helps us move forward,
remembering our faithful heritage. (Greg Lewis, Carolyn Peckham, and
Jerrod Hugenot will be facilitating this event.)

On Sunday, October 15, 2006, we will hold an “Asset” event. Using a
method called “asset mapping,” we will challenge First Baptist to think
about what are the various assets that the church has. And by asset,
we’re not talking necessarily about the financials! This will be a
creative event that will help the church look at what it can do and what
it might do next with its talents, time, and mission. After this event,
we might all be saying, “Look out, world! Here comes First Baptist!” This
event gets our feet moving! (Jean Hoag, Lisa Flynn, and Jerrod Hugenot
will be facilitating this event.)

On Sunday, November 12, 2006, we will hold a “Purpose” event. The exact
programming is still to be determined, but think of this event as a time
to help us get ready for 2007. Pledge time and nominating committee work
usually is underway at this time. The transition team asks First Baptist
to be prepared to be different in 2007! This event will help us look
ahead by embracing the coming year not as another year to fund “business
as usual” but as a time to figure out how 2007 will be a “life-changing”
year for First Baptist. Can we dare imagine 2007 as “THE” year that the
church moves more into the community, deepens its journey of faith, and
seeks new ways of being “church” here in Bennington.

Are you excited? We’ll see EVERYONE on September 24 for the first big
event! Questions? Contact the transition team or minister at any time.

Holy Conversations SWOT analysis

As part of the transitional process, Rev. Hugenot is conducting a "SWOT analysis." Developed by the good folks at the Alban Institute, the SWOT analysis encourages congregants to look at the various "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats" that they perceive aid and ail the congregation.

If you are a FBC member or regular attendee, please fill out a form (see file upload link below) and return it to the church office as soon as possible. This analyis exercise helps us "see" the congregation and each member's perceptions about the life of the congregation.

We are grateful to the Alban Institute for permission to use the graph, reproduced from the book Holy Conversations, written by Gil Rendle and Alice Mann. The graph is copyright of the Alban Institute and is used by permission. No further reproduction is allowed. Visit the good folks at the Alban Institute to learn more about their publications, consulting, and programming at www.alban.org.

A downloadable PDF file can be found by clicking the link called "Church Download Depot" at the right.