Guest Blog by Hilary Rosen
When we started work as the Healthy Community Team (HCT), we didn’t know each other. We came from different places in the congregation and had divergent viewpoints. One thing we had in common was that we were dedicated to creating a healthy congregation at QUUF, and we knew we had to start by committing to integrity in ourselves. Fast forward a few months, and we have worked hard together, supporting each other, and sharing leadership roles. We have moved into being a true team. We like each other, and we work together well. We still have disagreements, and a diversity of opinions, but our respect for each other and our dedication to QUUF’s health pulls us through every time.
When the Summer of Listening began with the cottage meetings, we were prepared for all sorts of possible disruptions. But none of that happened. Everyone who came was respectful and spoke their truth in a heartfelt and well thought out manner. We were humbled by your grace, we were impressed by your thoughtfulness, we were inspired by your deep caring for QUUF. And we collected data like mad! There were so many good ideas, so much depth of feeling.
We asked questions that could have been answered in a few words. And some people did just that, but we also heard emotional outpourings of hopes and losses. We went into the meetings with energetic anticipation for what we might learn; at the conclusion, we were grateful for the openness and genuine caring for QUUF regardless of our diverse and sometimes divisive opinions. With the data we gathered, HCT managed to create information for multiple paths toward strengthening our congregation.
One thing that stood out for us is that there was often variety within the responses of a single person. In other words, people are complex, and many would rather not be identified by their position on a single issue.
We’ve created a document describing the outcome of the Cottage Meetings. In it, we talk about the data, and how we might use it in QUUF. As you read this report, we ask you to think about how YOU can use this information. Maybe the report will spark an idea, we hope so.
As we move forward, it’s important to remember that we all love QUUF, we want to move forward together, and we want to do it with every single person. Diversity of opinion is our strength, if we can harness it properly, we all benefit, especially QUUF. It’s going to take all of us on many paths to the goal: a healthy community. We are all in this together!
Links:
Cottage Meeting Data (overview followed by data)
Raw Data (just comments)