Nick Sent Us a Report!
For those of you who do not know, Nick is a fine young man who came to know Christ here at the Gathering in the summer of 2006. He then, unfortunately was forced to leave us and return to his family home in Superior Wisconsin. We have been in touch helping him to select a new church there which may suit his needs. He has sent a report on his first attempt. It just happens this church is also called the Gathering, (cool huh?) Several years ago I looked into being this churches church planter, but decided to come here to Bemidji instead. It's a small world.
Here be the long awaited report on The Gathering Covenant Church.
The Church is in transition and so they have an interim Pastor who may become the Pastor elect or relinquish his post once another Pastor comes along and claimes the rights to it. They are very unsure of who they are as a church, and in that way you could call them a fledging though that particular gathering has been around for some time. During the transition they lost a few members, which may or may not be a mark against them. I'm certain that they left because they did not wish to deal with the transition. It was even unclear why the transition took place. I was a bit nervous in meeting everyone and so most likely forgot a lot about which I was going to enquire, but I did get some information from them that was helpful. They believe in having diverse small groups and are open to forming new and perhaps avant garde ones as the need arises. There seems to be no great emphasis on monetary contribution; they are dedicated to nuturing each other spirtually in order that they may be a stable and confident church who can fulfill the needs of the surrounding community. They didn't seem to have an extensive doctrine that everyone upon entering had to sign and commit to, nor did they seem to be ingenuine. They all seemed very friendly and delighted to have strangers attend the service.I got the impression that they really do care about their role in the community, but at present are looking for a way into that community, and were open to any suggestions. The service was, as tradition have it, OK, a bit more formal than I am accustomed to. But that's not to say that it was uneasy or uncomfortable. It just took more to the traditional approach to the service with all the risings and fallings and superfluous unified readings of the Scripture. That's the short of it. If you want to know the long of it, too bad, because there you have it. I think that there are a lot of things that I can do for this church in the way of accessing non-Christians. Beyond that is questionable. I don' even know who I am as Christian yet; I've been exploring it though through writing a personal essay (for a class) that deals with many of the present issues and past issues over which my mind has been constantly mulling for over a decade. When I know more, I'll let you know. I'll let you know of my progress within the church and outside the church. I hope to hear from you soon. Take care. ~Nick
Here be the long awaited report on The Gathering Covenant Church.
The Church is in transition and so they have an interim Pastor who may become the Pastor elect or relinquish his post once another Pastor comes along and claimes the rights to it. They are very unsure of who they are as a church, and in that way you could call them a fledging though that particular gathering has been around for some time. During the transition they lost a few members, which may or may not be a mark against them. I'm certain that they left because they did not wish to deal with the transition. It was even unclear why the transition took place. I was a bit nervous in meeting everyone and so most likely forgot a lot about which I was going to enquire, but I did get some information from them that was helpful. They believe in having diverse small groups and are open to forming new and perhaps avant garde ones as the need arises. There seems to be no great emphasis on monetary contribution; they are dedicated to nuturing each other spirtually in order that they may be a stable and confident church who can fulfill the needs of the surrounding community. They didn't seem to have an extensive doctrine that everyone upon entering had to sign and commit to, nor did they seem to be ingenuine. They all seemed very friendly and delighted to have strangers attend the service.I got the impression that they really do care about their role in the community, but at present are looking for a way into that community, and were open to any suggestions. The service was, as tradition have it, OK, a bit more formal than I am accustomed to. But that's not to say that it was uneasy or uncomfortable. It just took more to the traditional approach to the service with all the risings and fallings and superfluous unified readings of the Scripture. That's the short of it. If you want to know the long of it, too bad, because there you have it. I think that there are a lot of things that I can do for this church in the way of accessing non-Christians. Beyond that is questionable. I don' even know who I am as Christian yet; I've been exploring it though through writing a personal essay (for a class) that deals with many of the present issues and past issues over which my mind has been constantly mulling for over a decade. When I know more, I'll let you know. I'll let you know of my progress within the church and outside the church. I hope to hear from you soon. Take care. ~Nick
posted by Joe at 9:26 AM
1 Comments:
my comment
Post a Comment
<< Home