Connecting the Dots by Lou
First is the Invite-Welcome-Connect Pittsburgh Summit, to be held at St. Paul's on Saturday, September 12. You may remember that I traveled with three parishioners to Texas in early May to attend a national conference on Invite-Welcome-Connect. We were so impressed with the approach of how to make our parishes more inviting, more welcoming, and more connecting that we knew we had to bring the program leader to Pittsburgh. With a generous grant from the Diocese, we are able to bring nationally known congregational development consultant and coach, Mary Parmer, to be with us all day on September 12. This will be a valuable experience for all members of St. Paul's as we continue on our journey of becoming more inviting and connecting to our vision of trying to be the most welcoming parish poss
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Yowza
Read more about Invite - Welcome - Connect.
Second is our annual stewardship program that will launch in the early fall. This year's theme is "Connect." The heart and soul of our parish is about making connections: connecting with God, connecting with other members, connecting with the larger community, and connecting to those beyond Pittsburgh and as far away as Uganda. A vibrant and healthy parish is all about relationships. We will be exploring the many ways we have of connecting at St. Paul's, and we will begin with a series of get-togethers in parishioner homes. Everyone will be invited to attend one of these gatherings at the time and location that works best for them. This will be a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new connections, in a friendly and informal environment.
The final activity is in the early stages of development. We're calling it "Too Much of a Good Thing.It's about youth sports. We are hearing more and more about the increasing demands of youth sports on the families of our community: families stretched to the breaking point with exhaustive schedules of practices and games, including games requiring extensive travel; excessive time demands on children, at a younger and younger age, and on the parents who must transport and support them; and conflicts with other family commitments and obligations becoming more common.
We believe this is having a negative effect on family relationships and the healthy development of children. I urge you to read the article in this issue by Vestry member and mom Enid Prettyman that provides her perspective on the situation.
Youth sports can be a healthy and productive part of growing up, but we think we have reached a tipping point beyond which they become a serious problem. We would like to facilitate a community discussion in the fall to bring together parents and experts in child development, guidance counselors, and perhaps a professional athlete to address "Too Much of a Good Thing. I have invited the leaders of our local faith communities to gather here on August 18 to gather their perspective on this issue and to garner the interest and support of their congregations. And then we will have a broader discussion within the parish about how best to engage the Mt. Lebanon and surrounding communities in order to begin addressing this issue.
So what's the connection? How do Invite-Welcome-Connect, Stewardship Connect, and youth sports connect with each other? They are all about relationships, all about connecting. Invite-Welcome-Connect will help us learn how to be even more effective at establishing relationships within our parish and with the various communities we serve. Our Stewardship Connect program will reinforce the importance of connections, and provide the financial resources we need to grow our connections. "Too Much of a Good" is an important example of how we connect with and support families, both in the parish and beyond.
Finally, they all relate to our 20/20 Vision: becoming the most inviting, welcoming, and connecting parish we can possibly be. We've made great progress in becoming very welcoming, and now we also want to be as inviting and connecting as possible. Come on September 12 and learn how you can make this happen!
Blessings, Lou+
