Reflecting on Cottage Meetings

by Pastor Sonja Hagander

What a delight all the cottage meetings have been! I’m grateful for the generosity offered by each of the hosts and the more than 100 of you that have participated.  I am learning so much!

We’re not done yet! Some important focused cottage meetings are preparing to launch:

You may ask, “What are focused cottage meetings?”  They are key opportunities to gather 2-4 times with specific parts of the congregation to wonder how best to support, accompany, journey, do ministry with these vital areas of our life together…and it begins with deep listening to these voices of parents. Why parents?  One of the principles is the fact that parents are the most important people in a child’s life (more than a coach, pastor, youth director, teacher, friend, peers….(from National Study on Youth and Religion and The Search Institute).  

Cohorts will meet with Rollie Martinson, consultant, professor, pastor, congregant, friend, who has accompanied the field of children, youth and family ministry for many decades.  There is a Families with Young Children Cohort and a Families with Teens Cohort and a Young Adult Cohort.  

I have hunches what we might hear and learn, but it’s important to pause and deeply listen and not make assumptions.  Vision and structure follows from listening. What might nurture connectedness?  How might our congregation help people thrive? What does it look like to live our Christian calling out in the world at our places of work, home, school, travel and recreation?  In other words, how might CtK help one another love God and neighbor as we continue to form our faith and be deeply connected to one another across all generations?

As we move towards the end of summer and into early fall,  we will ask: what have we heard? What stories are we telling?  What do we yearn for as a congregation?  What are our neighbors hopes?  How are we getting to know one another?