The FaithX Project

Strategic Missional Consulting

Upcoming Webinars from FaithX

And an invitation to submit suggestions

It’s more than a little ironic that we are announcing our late 2020/early 2021 webinars right at the eighth month of the Coronavirus pandemic, the first month of the regular flu season, and three weeks away from a national election that is shows every sign of being a referendum on the government’s response to the Covid crisis. Sprinkle that with a pandemic-induced recession and social upheaval over systemic racism, and we’ve got ourselves a “perfect storm.”

Still, your response to our 3rd Wednesday webinars has been strong, and you’ve been asking for more, and even sending us suggestions for webinar topics you’d like us to offer, so here we are. And here is our webinar schedule through March 2020:

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Engaging in Life and Ministry “Beyond Covid”

by Steve Matthews

What now? How long? What’s next?  As a country we are in our 8th month of this pandemic. We continue to protest/ explore/ address/ ignore our racial inequities.  The west coast burns, and we round the alphabet on hurricane names in the gulf and Atlantic. Next month we will have a critical election for federal, state, and local leadership… and then there is the Supreme Court. There’s probably more, but suffice it to say, we have our hands more than full.

What does it mean to “be” church in the middle of all of this?  It’s no wonder people yearn to get back into their church buildings and to return to “normal.”  For many of us, these buildings represent a sense of belonging, beauty, safety, hope.  These are places where we have experienced community and God’s love fleshed out.  This is where many of us feel inspired and strengthened for the journey. 

But here we are, and how are we as people of faith called to show up in this “now?” How do we look at our world in ways that help us move beyond reaction?  

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Webinar Reminder

Leave No One Behind: How to Lead a Hybrid Congregation (9/16 – 1:00pm ET)

Webinar Description:

In times like these, it’s true that you can’t go home again, at least not if you’re a congregation and not if you expect it to be the same as when you left it. The impact of COVID-19 has changed all of our congregations for good. Our online worship services have brought new people to worship, young and old, some of which you will never see again if you try to bring your congregational life to its pre-COVID state.

Participants in the webinar will explore ways to restart in-person worship, fellowship, formation, and other ministries, without abandoning the gains (and the people) of our online church presence.

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You Can’t Go Home Again: Leading a Hybrid Congregation

by The Rev. Ken Howard

This blog post on leading a hybrid congregation includes registration information for a webinar of the same name

Click Here for Webinar Information

You can’t go home again
because home has ceased to exist except in the mothballs of memory
– John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley in Search of America

I recently watched a YouTube video of “The Dancing Priest” performing a parody of the popular Broadway tune, “You’ll Be Back,” from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s play, Hamilton. 

Right from the start it was good for laughs watching an Anglican priest sing and dance this number, especially since we know that George III was not only King of England but also Defender of the [Anglican] faith. And it’s so easy to see the parallels between the original and the parody.

You’ll be back – wait and see – just remember how it used to be.
You’ll be back – time will tell – when we kick this virus back to hell.
When we finally open the door, we will get back together even better than it was before.

The humor in these lines is real. But they are often poignant when you think about them a little in light of the possibility of instituting a hybrid congregation. Because at the same time it helps us yearn to believe those words, it also reminds us that our wishes to return to our pre-Covid ways are no more likely to be granted than those rebellious colonies were to return to the “loving” arms of Mad King George.

No. We can’t go home again. It is time we look at what’s necessary to lead a hybrid congregation. Of course, we may eventually return to our buildings. But while they may look the same and evoke fond memories of a feeling of being home, it will never feel the same. It can’t. Because as individuals and as congregations, we have changed. In many ways for good, both literally and figuratively.

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Church in a New Reality: Now What?

by Mary Frances

This post is part of our Keeping Congregations Connected series and includes information on our upcoming webinar: Reopening Church in a New Reality: Re-Visioning in a Changing Context.

We used to say “The more things change, the more things remain the same,” but in 2020, that old saying has been turned on its head.  Today the one thing that remains the same is change. We live in a new reality. Each day we turn on the news or look at our social media feeds to find our way of life challenged as never before.  In the midst of so much change, how do we move forward? How do we think about thriving as the church rather than just surviving?

In the weeks after Covid-19 hit, churches across the country pivoted from in-person worship to online worship in the blink of an eye. I’m not sure the church has ever seen such a rapid change without major resistance! There were no committees, no focus groups, no church council discussions. It just happened. And it was good. Churches adapted to their new reality.

Then we began to address what other essentials needed to change.  Online giving took priority, new ways of doing pastoral care, phone trees were initiated, and members were contacted one by one.  “Are you okay?,” we asked.  “Do you need anything?”  “Can I pray for you?”  All was well.  Congregations were now safely ensconced on Zoom or Facebook Live.  Whew!

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