Hosting a conference
05/06/14 05:17
Today we begin the adventure of hosting the 144th Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ. In the UCC in our corner of the world, the annual meeting is a bit like a family reunion. When it is our turn to host, we invite the neighbors to come to our place for a weekend of worship, speakers and business. The host is involved in making plans for the event, but not really in control. The other congregations and the board of directors of the conference all have their expectations and opinions about what should happen. We provide a place, prepare the space, provide snacks, arrange for meals, and take care of other details. The actual program, including the selection of the keynote speaker, setting of the agenda and other items are handled by others. We have input into some items, but control very few. It is very much like a family reunion in terms of the participants’ expectations of the event. More than the business conducted or the speakers heard, people come to the event to see one another. We have shared mission and ministries and we have worked together in a variety of different settings over the years and we enjoy getting together. As with other family reunions, there will be some new faces. Pastors come and go. Lay delegates change from year to year. Each gathering is unique.
The process of preparing for the meeting involves a lot of work. Schedules have been made and then revised. Worship leaders have been recruited and then adjustments need to be made. There are a lot of details to be managed.
Our work day will start with preparing and printing bulletins, brochures and other documents. This morning volunteers will arrive to help set up furniture. Several of our rooms need to be rearranged and reconfigured to accommodate the activities of the meeting. We are used to working together and that part of the hosting will go smoothly. Most of our out of town guests don’t arrive until tomorrow, when the pace of activities accelerates. There will be plenty of last minute details that demand our attention in the next few days. We will have forgotten some things that will demand that we scramble to make adjustments.
Whatever else happens, by Monday it will be over. Our guests will be off to other adventures or on their way home. We’ll put the furniture back into the arrangements we usually have and life will go on.
From one perspective, the conference meeting is a lot of work and a lot of time for a remarkably small amount of business. The majority of Saturday’s schedule is devoted to three business sessions where the moderator will precede and some semblance of order will prevail. The truth is that the actual decision-making would require less than 15 minutes. Most of the “business” won’t be business at all, but rather people talking who seem to need an audience. I can predict that the budget proposed will pass. Those who disagree will either keep their opinions to themselves or ask a few questions, but when the vote comes there will be no dissent. None of the elections will be contested. Voting goes quickly when there is only one candidate for each position. Most of the time will be devoted to announcements. People have things that they think are important to be said and the event provides an audience. It isn’t a particularly effective way to communicate with congregations, but there will be plenty of people who want to make sure that their opinion is heard.
In our congregation we are used to a rather different lifestyle than the conference. Our annual meeting rarely takes more than an hour. It often is a place to gather information about new directions, new projects and new ministries. We elect a similar number of people to boards and committees and vote a budget with a similar number of dollars, but the meeting is over and we are sharing coffee and refreshments between the end of worship and time for lunch. In our congregation, a “workshop” takes half a day and you need a shower when it is over, but real work is accomplished. When we were asked to plan workshops for the conference meeting, we thought of some of our big projects like splitting wood and building a house with Habitat for Humanity. The conference meeting, however, only allows an hour for a workshop and people have only an hour after the workshops to be ready for a banquet. There won’t be much wood splitting accomplished and the craft group won’t produce any quilts. Mostly we’ll accomplish what people come to the conference meeting to do: talk.
For all of the talking, there is a reasonable amount of listening. The keynote speaker will have things to share that are worth hearing. The workshops will share some information that can be used by other congregations in their life together. The worship services will inspire and challenge and even offer a few surprises. I am sure that the ceremony transferring title to church properties will move some and be remembered for years to come. Some of the conversations will be the beginnings of collaborations where congregations come together to accomplish significant work in the future.
And the gift of being able to extend hospitality is not to be taken lightly. Hospitality is a spiritual discipline that needs to be practiced over and over again. Fortunately it is one of the gifts of the spirit where our congregation excels. We’re pretty good at providing food and a welcome space for others to gather. We have some practice at inviting guests and providing for their needs. We come together well to get the work done. There have already been some good times of working together in preparation for our guests. Our building has some corners that are cleaner than our typical and some places gleam and shine a bit more in preparation for our guests. Our people will g out of their way to make our guests feel comfortable and at home. They will leave having eaten some good food and seen a glimpse of the life that we share together.
And, in the course of time, we will extend the invitation for the conference to come back. We’ll do it again and again. And between times of hosting we’ll forget the hassles and problems and remember the joy of people gathering and worshiping together.
That is as it should be.
The process of preparing for the meeting involves a lot of work. Schedules have been made and then revised. Worship leaders have been recruited and then adjustments need to be made. There are a lot of details to be managed.
Our work day will start with preparing and printing bulletins, brochures and other documents. This morning volunteers will arrive to help set up furniture. Several of our rooms need to be rearranged and reconfigured to accommodate the activities of the meeting. We are used to working together and that part of the hosting will go smoothly. Most of our out of town guests don’t arrive until tomorrow, when the pace of activities accelerates. There will be plenty of last minute details that demand our attention in the next few days. We will have forgotten some things that will demand that we scramble to make adjustments.
Whatever else happens, by Monday it will be over. Our guests will be off to other adventures or on their way home. We’ll put the furniture back into the arrangements we usually have and life will go on.
From one perspective, the conference meeting is a lot of work and a lot of time for a remarkably small amount of business. The majority of Saturday’s schedule is devoted to three business sessions where the moderator will precede and some semblance of order will prevail. The truth is that the actual decision-making would require less than 15 minutes. Most of the “business” won’t be business at all, but rather people talking who seem to need an audience. I can predict that the budget proposed will pass. Those who disagree will either keep their opinions to themselves or ask a few questions, but when the vote comes there will be no dissent. None of the elections will be contested. Voting goes quickly when there is only one candidate for each position. Most of the time will be devoted to announcements. People have things that they think are important to be said and the event provides an audience. It isn’t a particularly effective way to communicate with congregations, but there will be plenty of people who want to make sure that their opinion is heard.
In our congregation we are used to a rather different lifestyle than the conference. Our annual meeting rarely takes more than an hour. It often is a place to gather information about new directions, new projects and new ministries. We elect a similar number of people to boards and committees and vote a budget with a similar number of dollars, but the meeting is over and we are sharing coffee and refreshments between the end of worship and time for lunch. In our congregation, a “workshop” takes half a day and you need a shower when it is over, but real work is accomplished. When we were asked to plan workshops for the conference meeting, we thought of some of our big projects like splitting wood and building a house with Habitat for Humanity. The conference meeting, however, only allows an hour for a workshop and people have only an hour after the workshops to be ready for a banquet. There won’t be much wood splitting accomplished and the craft group won’t produce any quilts. Mostly we’ll accomplish what people come to the conference meeting to do: talk.
For all of the talking, there is a reasonable amount of listening. The keynote speaker will have things to share that are worth hearing. The workshops will share some information that can be used by other congregations in their life together. The worship services will inspire and challenge and even offer a few surprises. I am sure that the ceremony transferring title to church properties will move some and be remembered for years to come. Some of the conversations will be the beginnings of collaborations where congregations come together to accomplish significant work in the future.
And the gift of being able to extend hospitality is not to be taken lightly. Hospitality is a spiritual discipline that needs to be practiced over and over again. Fortunately it is one of the gifts of the spirit where our congregation excels. We’re pretty good at providing food and a welcome space for others to gather. We have some practice at inviting guests and providing for their needs. We come together well to get the work done. There have already been some good times of working together in preparation for our guests. Our building has some corners that are cleaner than our typical and some places gleam and shine a bit more in preparation for our guests. Our people will g out of their way to make our guests feel comfortable and at home. They will leave having eaten some good food and seen a glimpse of the life that we share together.
And, in the course of time, we will extend the invitation for the conference to come back. We’ll do it again and again. And between times of hosting we’ll forget the hassles and problems and remember the joy of people gathering and worshiping together.
That is as it should be.