You may have read earlier this year from our new director, Beth Kennett, that we are headed in some new directions as The Center for Congregational Health. In recent years, we have found ourselves in the same place many of our congregations have. The realities around us and affecting us are quickly changing. Last spring we worked with one of our consultants using a process similar to what we do with congregations. Through that work, we created a strategic plan that we used to write a scaling grant for Thriving Congregations with the Lilly Foundation, which we have now received.
Like we do with congregations, we looked back at our history. The Center for Congregational Health was founded with the idea of blending the best of social science with the best of congregational research. The Center has had two previous distinct seasons and we recognize that we are moving into a new, third season. In the past, The Center provided internal interim minister, consulting and coaching at a time when those were thriving and in a model that was designed to meet the congregations where they were. While the work we do with congregations is still the vital life blood of what we do and who we are, some of that reality has changed. How we do this work needs to change to come alongside new realities that congregations and ministers are facing.
Next we took a look around us where we are now. The Center for Congregational Health is based out of a health system and over the years we have moved from being a subsidiary to the hospital, to being firmly connected to the hospital. In that same time, community health divisions in hospitals have grown. They recognize that in order to have healthy outcomes for patients, community support is critical and much of the work they do is through congregations. Our hospital system knows how to do the health piece, but we at The Center know how to do the congregational piece.
We also realize that in this very polarizing times, we are uniquely positioned because we are not tied to a theological body with defined belief system. We are able to bring varied voices together around the table to share resources to help all of us meet the needs in a more impactful way. This is true for congregations, denominations and institutions.
Deepening our partnerships within the health system and expanding the collaborations beyond it allows us to help secure a future for The Center’s work with all congregations. Utilizing partners within our health system allows us to expand the types of people that we are working with. We can now offer people who are trained consultants that are also trained in mental health, working on the front lines in nonprofits across the country, etc.
With this unique position in connection to the health system, we will strive to be a faithful and flourishing organization in the next three to five years, and beyond, and we will create a collaborative board. This will allow for the thriving of multiple organizations, denominations and institutions as they share resources and collaborate together in ways that have not been possible before.
Our mission and vision has always been “to help faith communities and their leaders thrive. [to create] a world where congregations transform their communities to be more compassionate, faithful and just.” We will partner with the hospital systems to do more of this work as we create hubs of The Center for Congregational Health throughout the health system. This will expand the expertise of people that can support all congregations. We will be able to offer a wider variety of training, support and consultant expertise while we work with congregations as we always have, inside and outside connections to the health system.
We will also create a future by making our work more accessible for a variety of congregations and experiences. We will develop training and shorter form processes, using the research and expertise of the last thirty-three years, to bring consulting work to a greater variety of congregations in a variety of ways.
This is a liminal space season. We are dreaming big because we believe that the work The Center for Congregational Health has always done is critical to the future of congregations and the health of ministers. We bring a level of expertise that is expanding as our network expands. We are hopeful and excited about the future and what it will mean for our health system, your denominations and your congregations.