Missional Learning Communities
Leader/Pastor Cohort Dates
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
9:30-1:30
Westminster Presbyterian Church and Kendall Yards
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
9:30-1:30
Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church and Northtown Mall
Thursday, November 1, 2018
9:30-1:30
Eastern Washington University and The Mason Jar
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
9:30-1:30
The Community Building – Downtown Spokane
Tuesday, March 7, 2019
9:30-1:30
Location to be determined
Thursday, May 23, 2019
9:30-1:30
Location to be determined
Upcoming Presbytery Events
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Presbytery Summit
@ 1st Presbyterian Church CDA
9:30-3:30
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Presbytery Summit
@ Millwood Community Presbyterian Church
9:30-3:30
Thursday, September 26, 2018
Presbytery Summit
@ Camp Spalding
9:30-3:30
Saturday, November 26, 2018
Presbytery Summit
@ First Presbyterian Church Spokane
9:30-3:30
Learning Communities
The Idea…
In the fall of 2017 we launched Learning Community Cohorts to listen, discern, experiment and reflect together on what God is up to in our neighborhoods and communities. These cohorts were made up of a few individuals from several congregations throughout the Presbytery.
In April 2018 we merged these cohorts with our quarterly Presbytery Gatherings. This merger is continuing into the fall of 2018. Each quarterly Presbytery gathering will include significant time for story-telling and reflecting on what God is up to and how we are partnering with God. We invite anyone interested in this process to attend our quarterly Presbytery Gatherings (you do not need to be a pastor or elder to attend!).
Leader/Pastor Cohort: Pastors and church staff members involved or interested in missional work are invited to be part of the separate Learning Community cohort that meets six times throughout the 2018-2019 year. We will meet the following dates: Sept 12, Oct 2, Nov 1, Jan 16, March 7 and May 23 from 9:30AM-1:30PM. Each gathering will have a specific theme we explore together and each person will set an experiment around that theme, which will be reflected upon at the next gathering.
- For more information on Missional Learning Communities please contact our Missional Expeditor, Katie Stark ([email protected])
Resources to understand what it means to be "Missional"
Being missional is different than doing mission work – it is a way of life, not a project or a trip. This paradigm shift is a challenge for all of us in the church who are used to how things have been. It is also an invitation into the new thing God is doing within our culture. In order to better understand what we mean when we talk about being missional, here are a few resources:
Our Journey to Become Missional
LEARNING COMMUNITY DOCUMENTS:
Fall 2017 – Learning Communities (from 5/2/17 Presbytery Gathering)
Learning Communities application (from 5/2/17 Presbytery Gathering)
New Approach to Outcomes (from 5/2/17 Presbytery Gathering)
Future Church Infographic (from 5/2/17 Presbytery Gathering)
Presbytery MSTF Presentation – 2011
Mission Study Document – 2011
Dwelling in the Word
One of our spiritual practices is to dwell in scripture. We encourage congregations to begin the spiritual practice of dwelling in the word at the beginning of any meeting (session, committee, etc.). Invite the participants to prepare minds and hearts through a moment of silence. During the first reading invite participants to listen for a word or phrase that jumps out at them. Leave a minute of silence before a second reading (it should be read by a different voice each time and preferably different genders). After the second reading (followed by a moment of silence) invite participants to turn to a partner and share one or two things they heard. Ask each participant to share with the larger group one thing that they heard their partner share (do not ask people to share what they themselves hear – only what they heard their partner say). To finish up invite the group to reflect on any themes they picked up on. There are some of the scripture passages we’ve used in the past: