New Covenant Community • 210 West Mulberry Street • Normal, IL • 61761 • 309.454.7362

UPDATE:

The Six Groups mentioned below have formed, and began meeting (or will

begin meeting soon).  In addition, a Worship Planning Group was formed

which meets monthly, as well as a Pastor/ Parish Relations Group which

meets quarterly.

Visioning Becomes Action -- Fall 2008
Almost a year ago New Covenant Community held a visioning retreat to share
our dreams for NCC’s future. Over the past year the NCC Steering Committee
has been working with the dreams and ideas we generated that day to develop
a way to present, nurture and bring them to life.

The Steering Committee identified three major themes and invited the Community
to form smaller groups to address these ideas. Over this summer three groups have
been meeting to further develop the main areas of PEOPLE, PROGRAM and
PLACE. About 30 people are involved with this process. We thank them for their
time and commitment and once again it’s time to extend an invitation for you to
join us!

On September 21, Chris Kaufman, Suzie Hutton and Elizabeth Anvick hosted
a “Planning for the Future” fair. You will have the opportunity to join one of six
initial groups turning our visions into reality.

The six groups are:
NCC Fun - planning social events
NCC Care - support in times of need
NCC Hospitality - making greeting a way of life
NCC Children and Family Life Education - planning for Sundays and beyond
NCC Special Music - inviting a joyful noise
NCC Adult Education - spiritual growth in small groups

More information and the opportunity to sign up ran through October, 2008.

BACKGROUND:

Back in September, 2007 40 NCC members and friends gathered for a day of visioning facilitated by local consultant Jan Elfline.  We alternated working together and in small groups throughout the day to consider questions such as the following:

• Recalling your entire experience at this church, what was a high point (a time when you felt most alive, motivated, appreciated, and grateful for your involvement)?

• What factors give vitality to this church, without which it couldn’t exist (it’s defining and enduring values?

• How does this community make a difference in the world?

• If you were a newcomer some Sunday, what aspects of the worship service would most clearly convey to you this community’s defining values?

• It is now September 2017 — what would you wish to see happening at NCC that is engaging, inspiring, and making a real difference?

We shared our responses and recorded them under six headings: building, membership, education, social agenda, worship, and other.  From those initial ideas, notes were compiled by a small group of volunteers who synthesized the original six categories into three new ones: NCC Place, NCC Ingrowth, and NCC Outgrowth.  These notes were made available to the entire congregation at the end of December, 2007.  Copies are still available during worship, or by request (email RWRyder@aol.com).

The compilation volunteers reported to the Steering Committee at their November, 2007 meeting.  Together the SC agreed the next step should be translating our common aspirations into a cohesive vision.  What characteristics do we collectively want NCC to retain?  What new aspects do we want to develop in the next stage of our history?  What will it look like, sound like, and feel like to be part of NCC a dozen years from now?