The Congregational Life Team has been tasked with two things: facilitating opportunities for connection and fellowship in our church community, and coordinating a behavioral covenant for our congregation.

Our denomination defines a behavioral covenant as a written document created by a community of faith, agreed to and owned by the community, and practiced on a daily basis as a spiritual discipline. It is a way of developing common language, common commitments, and an awareness of healthy behaviors that build community. A behavioral covenant is that it takes the values we hold dear in our church compact, and translates them into observable behaviors. You can read examples of behavioral covenants here and here. Creating a behavioral covenant is an opportunity to reflect on and reinforce our shared values, and to continue creating beloved community.

In November, we asked members of the congregation to reflect on what it looks like to follow, even imperfectly, the way of Jesus in our interactions with one another. Thank you to everyone who participated at UCG or at the Men’s Retreat. On January 12, we will share in the service what we learned from that exercise, and give the congregation another opportunity for reflection and sharing ideas on what our church compact looks like in action. That same day, we will also host a seminar with activities, opportunities to connect with one another, and to learn more about behavioral covenants.