Zoar

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.

 

To recap, in November and early December 2025, we considered the stories and gifts entrusted to us by our ancestors – biological, familial, spiritual, and biblical – while wondering together, “What can we learn from those who’ve gone before us? How can their experiences and gifts strengthen our faith, encourage our hearts, and inspire us to engage in God’s work during these challenging times?”

 

Speaking of challenges, we’ve been asking many other difficult, but necessary questions – like the ones listed here:

 

• 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?”

 

Looking 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.

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Here’s a tentative schedule as we continue with “Funding Forward” by Grace Duddy Pomroy*:

 

• Jan. 11             Part 2: What Might God Be Calling Us to Do? – Chapter 6: “Property”        

• Jan. 18             Chapter 7: “Social Enterprise”

• Jan. 25             Chapter 8: “Staffing”

• Feb. 1              Chapter 9: “How Might We Fund What God is Calling Us to Do?”

• Feb. 8              NO CLASS

• Feb. 15            Chapter 10: “How Can We Shift Our Congregation’s Financial Model?” and Afterword: “From Sustainable to Sustained”

 

* 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.

 

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!