Community Engagement
Engagement Meeting Update from November 15, 2023
After welcoming folks, praying, a quick recap of our last meeting and having dinner…..
Pat posed a question for the group related to the topic (which I embarrassingly forget what the question was.) Then Pastor Margaret spoke about lessons & examples we can learn from and framed mutual aid networks as relational networks of community cooperation for the common good. Next, John briefly discussed identifying local social justice issues. He used the example of how some people in Birdsboro can’t afford to pay all of their bills and have to choose—meaning many can’t pay for their water/sewer bill and end up skipping showers and skimping on water use. Is there a way to make water more affordable for those in need?
Next, we split into small breakout groups by the dinner tables we were sitting at, each table discussed the printout articles/materials they had at their tables. The tables didn’t have the same printed material but had different stuff to look at and discuss. Then we regrouped and had open discussions about the entire group’s thoughts. We decided the next step will be to widely publicize our next gathering to the community to try to make a large meeting event. Rough target date for this meeting will be by the end of January.
In the meantime, we’ve formed two teams: One team to plan and organize the public launch event (the big meeting to broaden community support and awareness) and organize the venue meal etc. The other team will be planning the structure and organization of our mutual aid network. Similar to MTBB, these two teams will set their own meetings to work on their tasks. We did not set team meeting dates at the Community Dialogue Dinner on Wednesday.
Structure Team: Stuart & Lenette, John Hunter, Tom Adil, Pat Babel.
Event Team: Barb Headman, Barb Kerper, Pastor Margaret, Rob R.
It’s possible a few more people might join a team since several interested folks were not able to make it to the meeting.
We closed with the poem “The Low Road” by Marge Piercy.
Pat posed a question for the group related to the topic (which I embarrassingly forget what the question was.) Then Pastor Margaret spoke about lessons & examples we can learn from and framed mutual aid networks as relational networks of community cooperation for the common good. Next, John briefly discussed identifying local social justice issues. He used the example of how some people in Birdsboro can’t afford to pay all of their bills and have to choose—meaning many can’t pay for their water/sewer bill and end up skipping showers and skimping on water use. Is there a way to make water more affordable for those in need?
Next, we split into small breakout groups by the dinner tables we were sitting at, each table discussed the printout articles/materials they had at their tables. The tables didn’t have the same printed material but had different stuff to look at and discuss. Then we regrouped and had open discussions about the entire group’s thoughts. We decided the next step will be to widely publicize our next gathering to the community to try to make a large meeting event. Rough target date for this meeting will be by the end of January.
In the meantime, we’ve formed two teams: One team to plan and organize the public launch event (the big meeting to broaden community support and awareness) and organize the venue meal etc. The other team will be planning the structure and organization of our mutual aid network. Similar to MTBB, these two teams will set their own meetings to work on their tasks. We did not set team meeting dates at the Community Dialogue Dinner on Wednesday.
Structure Team: Stuart & Lenette, John Hunter, Tom Adil, Pat Babel.
Event Team: Barb Headman, Barb Kerper, Pastor Margaret, Rob R.
It’s possible a few more people might join a team since several interested folks were not able to make it to the meeting.
We closed with the poem “The Low Road” by Marge Piercy.
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*Mission Statement:
We are a welcoming, Christ-centered community called to embody, nurture and share God’s Loving Light both within St. Paul’s and our wider community |
**Vision Statement:
St. Paul's creates experiences of joyful fellowship where children, youth, adults, and the elderly build open and honest relationships of mutual support. In welcoming the ongoing transformative power of the Holy Spirit, we find freedom from social stigmas and shame. This in turn empowers us to address isolation and marginalization in ourselves and in our wider community. |
