Season 3 - Episode 13

To listen to an audio version of this post, visit www.covenantchurch.ca/podcasts/covenant-weekly.

Hey there, Covenant Family.

On this second Tuesday of the month, we will be talking about a ministry at Covenant Church. This week, rather than interviewing someone else about a ministry, I’d like to share about a ministry that has become very important to me. When we list ministry areas at Covenant, this is something that we usually don’t think about. It doesn’t even make our lists. But it is something that has begun to impact how we operate in healthy and beautiful ways. I’d like to share about our Covenant Coffee & Conversations on this Covenant Weekly for April 9, 2024.

As a reminder, even though I’m not interviewing someone, I’m using the same format to share about this ministry area as I've used for other ministry highlights. I’m trying to answer four questions as we go through today. I've included the questions below.

Could you provide us with a brief overview of the ministry? Is there an origin story to the ministry (or parts of the ministry)? Are there program dates and times? What does the ministry look like?

First, for those unaware, let me describe what Covenant Coffee & Conversations are. They are times for everyone who is a part of our Covenant Family to come together to informally discuss things within our life together. The topic of conversation may be our facility, a program, finances, staffing, or our mission. It may be something else completely different. There may be a presentation to kick off the conversation. Or we may just be presented with a series of questions to consider and discuss. The conversation may include small and large group times. But at its heart, a Coffee & Conversation time is a chance to hear and be heard - to create space for God to speak through his body - as we pursue following his leading. These 45-60-minute conversations happen every other month between September and June and immediately follow our Sunday Service.

Three levels of influence gave rise to our Coffee & Conversation gatherings.

1. The first is a historical reason. We are an Anabaptist congregation. Anabaptists are a 500-year-old group of Christians that flowed out of something called the Radical Reformation. There are several historical convictions within Anabaptism, but for our purposes, one of those is that God speaks through the community of faith. While there is individual discernment, God’s leading for us and even how we interpret and understand scripture is ultimately done within the community. But how do we create space for this community discernment if we aren’t talking with and listening to each other? I didn’t grow up in an Anabaptist setting that prioritized this or gave me a model for it. This kind of conversational community discernment continues to be something I wonder about. How can we do well in a culture that doesn’t seem to prioritize it?
2. The second is a personal reason. I was once pastoring in a very dysfunctional church environment. There was conflict, not only between me as the pastor and others in the church but also between different individuals within the church. It isn’t exaggerating to describe the culture as toxic. Within the mess, we invited other voices in to help us identify and navigate our challenges. One suggestion they gave was to plan a regular ministry leaders' conversation session to help us hear each other and build trust. We started this and people came. For reasons I won’t get into now, the mess went on and got worse until I could no longer remain in that context. Despite that, however, glimpses of healthier practices, understanding, and cooperation appeared every time we had those conversations. Were it not for the committed attempts at disruption from some in the church, I remain convinced that those conversations could have had a deep and lasting impact. I got a taste for something beautiful even though everything else was so toxic that it couldn’t last. And because of other pain, for a while I forgot about the good thing that was there.
3. The third thing that prompted these was things at Covenant - specifically a couple of areas of tension and frustration. The first area of tension was business meetings. Some people, relating to financial things, want to dig into the details of every budget or expense line, historical trends, and possible projections. Others are more interested in the big picture and the narrative story of ministry. The tensions between these perspectives came to a head at one point. As we sought understanding and brainstormed around a solution, we decided to hold an informal setting to discuss the details of our finances for those who wanted to get into the weeds. Things from those conversations would shape what and how we talked about with everyone else. The first year we did this, it resulted in a smoother and more enjoyable Annual Congregational Council.

Fast forward a couple of years and the board was discussing some major things. Because our board takes seriously that they are working on behalf of the congregation, they didn’t want to make certain decisions without having a sense of what the congregation thought. When there wasn’t a forum to hear from the congregation, our discussion went round and round, not getting anywhere from month to month. So we decided to hold some Coffee & Conversation gatherings to talk about some specific things.

We began to discover something that our Anabaptist forebearers discovered 500 years ago - that there is vast wisdom and insight within the church family. Hearing from each other when things are healthy can help us avoid the toxicity that exists within some contexts. I feel it has helped bring us together. And it helps us as a church family - and the board on our behalf - to make better and more informed decisions together.

Why is this ministry important to you personally?

These Coffee and Conversation gatherings have become important to me because I believe they help us be the body of Christ in healthier ways. Some church cultures can lead a pastor or a board to believe that they are the sources of wisdom and direction for their church. These regular conversations help remind us that we are God’s people and God is speaking through all of us together to lead us forward.

Are there currently any needs that need to be met for this ministry to thrive?

The main thing that needs to happen for this ministry to thrive is for people to participate! I know not everyone can be a part of everything, but when we take seriously that each of us has something to contribute we are stronger. The work of listening and sharing brings understanding, empathy, and fosters love. Regardless of what decisions get made, these are beautiful things!!!

Can you share a celebration story about how God is working through this ministry?

Very quickly, let me mention a couple of ways God is working through these ministries. First, the board is better equipped to execute its role on behalf of the congregation because we’ve heard from the congregation. It can serve the Covenant family better because of the insight and wisdom of the family.

Second, having informal times of conversation where we can ask the hard questions and get broader input without the pressure of an imminent vote, has taken the pressure off in the meetings in which we do vote. There was very little conversation around some things in our Annual Congregational Council this year. This isn’t because people weren’t invested or because the board did such an amazing job of presenting things. It was because we’d already talked about things multiple times before we got there! Input had already been given and was received. What was presented wasn’t just coming from the work of the board. It was representative of the work of the community - the Covenant family. As a result, we were ready to move forward together. I would add that some people who couldn’t attend the annual meeting still had meaningful input because they were at the Coffee & Conversation meeting where we discussed some of the items in advance.

I am grateful to everyone who has participated in these meetings so far. A special thanks to those who make the coffee on Sundays for having extra for these meetings. And thanks to those who bring treats to enjoy while we talk!

Our next Covenant Coffee & Conversation meeting will be on Sunday, April 28, 2024, immediately following our Sunday Service. That date is the day after our Be In Christ Church of Canada AGM so we’ll be able to hear about how that went. We hope to have more updates regarding accessibility for us to discuss and discern. And we hope to introduce a process for discerning strategic initiatives with opportunities for your input - both regarding the process and in the process. I hope and pray many of you will be able to be a part of that gathering for your sake and for the sake of the rest of the Covenant family who get value from your presence and contribution!

I offer this prayer for us in closing.

Lord God of heaven and earth. In Christ and by your Spirit, you draw us into a relationship with you and with each other. Jesus, you prayed for us, that we may be one as you and the Father are one. May we receive the gift of oneness and work to foster it through listening, disagreeing with grace, cooperating in embodying the kingdom, and acts of love - both radical and mundane. And as we do this, may you fill us with your peace, joy, and abundant life for the good of each other and the world in which we live. Amen.