What is a “Listening Season”?
A listening season is a time to intentionally listen to...
- God together in worship, Bible study, and prayer, as well as in our individual lives of faith.
- One another which we will do as we have conversations with each other called “one-to-ones.”
- The broader community which we will decide when and how we want to do at the conclusion of our listening to one another, first strengthening the bonds within BIC.
Read more about One-to-One Conversations and how to participate.
What is the purpose or goal of our Listening Season?
To deepen relationships within our community at BIC and to learn...
- Who are we? Who makes up this community that God has drawn together from all over the world?
- What gifts are present within BIC
- What stress, pressure, and pain is present within BIC
- What brings us joy and relief from those pressures
- What feeds our faith
- How/where is God calling us? What are our hopes and dreams for our church, our families, our community? What are God’s?
God may be calling us to look inward to…
- Share our gifts within BIC
- Pray and support one another in our pressures
- Join one another in the things that feed our faith
- Celebrate life together doing what brings us joy
God may be calling us to look outward to…
- Use what we have learned about ourselves to be of service to God’s people
- Listen to the broader community’s needs
- And only God knows what other possibilities!
What will we do with what we learn?
We'll find out in our “What Now?” conversation where...
- The core group will present common themes
- We will prayerfully brainstorm how we would like to act on the information that we have learned about who we are and where God is calling us.
Listening Season Core Group:
Kathleen Parks, Aaron Silco, Larry Stone, Pr. Gail Mundt, and Intern Pastor Dominique Buchholz
Adopted from One-to-One Relational Meetings, prepared by Sue Engh, Program Director for Congregation-Based Organizing at the ELCA