Earlier this summer Bromleigh asked me to speak during a Sunday service about our church year theme “Return, Reunite, Reimagine”.  I initially planned on giving a standard oration to share my thoughts and ideas on what this theme means to me. However, after some reflection, I realized that most of UCG already knows my feelings from my monthly Moderator Minute newsletter updates.  As our COVID outlook looked brighter in June, I really put my thinking cap on to come up with a fun, exciting and interactive way in which all of us could collectively share how this theme resonates. I recalled how engaging the Chalk Talk service had been when Dar Mikula, then Moderator, gathered input from the congregation when planning for our current 3-year plan.  I am no expert at this type of group-think activity so I consulted with Nancy Dana, also a former Moderator, who is our resident expert on Chalk Talks.

For those not familiar with the UCG version of a Chalk Talk, it is a silent (i.e. no talking) conversation on paper between you and others in your vicinity prompted by provocative, open-ended questions or concepts. With markers in hand and large paper on tables before you, the participants are invited to read and respond in writing to each other’s thoughts and inspirations. This creates a free-flowing, graffiti-style written interaction in which connections (arrows, lines, circles, etc.) are made between the various comments. Multiple, concurrent silent conversations with your table-mates are encouraged during the exercise. The written ideas and thoughts can then be collected and displayed with the goal of sharing the outcomes in a future Moderator’s Minute newsletter article.

While Dar and Nancy gave me some wonderful pointers and ideas, the real decision came down to producing this event safely in the present COVID conditions. After consultation with the UCG COVID Advisory Taskforce and the Ministers I am very excited that we have a plan to celebrate our “Return, Reunite, Reimagine” church year theme with a COVID-concious Chalk Talk during the September 12th services. I hope to create a spiritual space in which we can share and collaborate.

To make the experience as safe as possible, there will be a few considerations for our Chalk Talk:

• During the 9:15 am service we will be outside in the courtyard for no longer than 30 minutes of interaction (other service components would make up the other 10-15 minutes)
• Phillip will be playing selected inspirational music from Reimer Hall during the Chalk Talk
• Donn will be on the raised platform at the microphone guiding the Chalk Talk activities including an introduction, instructions, purpose/intended outcome and silent conversation prompts
• Two side-by-side rectangular folding tables will be in a square-shaped set-up and these tables would be spread throughout the courtyard to give participants more space
• Participants can self-select their table with no more than 4 people per table (one per each side)
• Everyone will remained masked and silent throughout the experience
• Participants will be asked to bring their own colored markers to be used exclusively  by themselves (i.e. no sharing of markers)
• Any markers used from the Church’s supply would be returned to a collection point afterwards and sanitized
• Participants will be given the option of participating in the Chalk Talk solo at individual tables separated from anyone else
• For the online experience at the 11:15 service, Donn will guide the participants with an introduction, instructions, purpose/intended outcome and silent conversation prompts
• Remote Participants will be invited to respond via the chat function and the responses would be recorded so that they can be included in the final outcomes
• Online participants may also choose to reflect on the prompts and then write down their responses which can be sent to Donn via the Church office

The entire congregation can contribute and be an integral part of envisioning what the “Return, Reunite, Reimagine”  theme means to all of us. The thoughts and ideas that we share during this Chalk Talk will be the seeds of inspiration for our church year theme and beyond. Engaging in silent conversation creates a powerful space for us all to reflect on what matters most and the gifts that we bring to our church family.