Zoar

Zoar’s Adult Forum Welcomes You

to Lend Your Voice to the Holy Conversation!

Are you hungry for meaningful conversation about things that matter – like how to find spiritual sustenance for yourself and how to strengthen and support the mission and ministry of Christ’s church in these challenging times? If you are feeling this hunger, or if you’re curious, we hope you’ll join us in the coming weeks for some heartfelt and thoughtful conversation at our Sunday morning Adult Forum. Centered in prayer and guided by the ever-present Holy Spirit, we’ll dare to engage the hard questions, as we seek to grow in wisdom and in our stewardship of God’s gifts.

Using Grace Duddy Pomroy’s 2024 book Funding Forward: A Pathway to More Sustainable Models of Ministry as our guide, we’re engaging questions such as these:

• “Why isn’t a better stewardship program enough to provide sustainable funding for our congregation’s mission and ministry in the 21st century?”

• What gifts and assets has God entrusted to our care, and what are some new and creative ways we might use them?”

• “Where is God at work in our wider community, and how might the Spirit be calling our congregation to join God’s mission?”

• “Does our congregation’s budget align with the mission to which God is calling us? If not, what do we need to change?”

In the weeks ahead, we’ll continue to focus on God’s mission in our wider community and how we, the people of Zoar, are being called/nudged/prodded to participate in it. Focusing on God’s mission is the key to discerning our way forward. Discernment is a process that takes time, patience, flexibility, and lots of deep conversation and hard work.  It will require each of us to set aside our own agendas and egos in order to focus on God’s mission. To do this discernment, we’ll need to be deeply steeped in prayer. We’ll also need to be good listeners, who are prepared to learn and pivot when God calls us to go in a new direction. It’s also likely that we’ll need to practice forgiving each other and ourselves. But if we do this work well, I have no doubt God will bless the fruits of our labors and help us find the sustainable funding Zoar will need in order to continue as a vibrant witness to God’s love in the Canby community long into the future.

NOTE: It’s not necessary for you to have the book in order to participate, but if there’s enough interest in purchasing the book, our office manager, David Tate, can order some copies from either Fortress Press or Cokesbury. Of course, you’re always welcome to purchase your own copy.

Here’s a tentative schedule:

• Feb. 1                  What Might God Be Calling Us to Do? – Chapter 6: “Property” (Part 3 of 3)          

• Feb. 8                  Adult Forum will not meet.

• Feb. 15            Guest speaker Keenan Moore from “Second Home,” an agency affiliated with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon that helps houseless youth and young adults find safe housing. (Keenan was one of our guest presenters during the “Who Are Our Neighbors?” series last year, and he is eager to give us an update on his work in Clackamas County. He will also join us for worship, so be sure to offer him a warm welcome!)

• Feb. 22            What Might God Be Calling Us to Do? – Chapter 7: “Social Enterprise” (Part 1 of 2)

• Mar. 1              What Might God Be Calling Us to Do? – Chapter 7: “Social Enterprise” (Part 2 of 2)

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The Adult Forum meets in the Kindness Room from 9:15-10 am on Sundays.

We hope YOU will join us for this important conversation!