Our Path Forward: Parish Life
Important Updates from the Parish Life Team
This Fall, we are inviting the entire Third Church family to return to community.
Our desire is that every person at Third would find a place to belong in a small community of believers within the church, where each person is known, valued, supported, and can be transformed through the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Parish Groups are the signature expression of this vision at Third Church. A Parish Group is a community of people within a particular geographic area of metro Richmond seeking to follow Jesus together and extend his mission in the world. Parish Groups offer a social environment in which men, women, and children can grow as disciples of Jesus, deepen relationships, and participate in God’s mission to renew all things. But we know that’s not the only expression of this vision! Affinity-based Bible studies, workplace small groups, missional communities, support groups, newcomers groups and more, are all places where we hope you can find rich community and discipleship in the coming year.
Where we’ve been: If you have been involved in Parish Life then you know that Parish Groups (like everything else!) have looked really different the past year and a half. Our leaders have worked hard to continue to care for Parish Group members and have found unique and creative ways to keep their groups connected in the midst of all of the challenges that came with the pandemic. While much of the future is still unknown, we are eager to get back into regular rhythms of meeting together this fall.
What we’re updating: The Parish Life team has also taken the past year to reevaluate the Parish Group model and make some key adjustments. When we launched Parish Life 3 years ago, we knew that it would take time and experience to figure out how this model best serves our community. So, we are learning. We are listening to everyone involved, and evolving it as necessary to connect and serve more people. Some of these changes include:
Putting structures in place to make sure that leaders are cared for and Parish Group needs can be responded to quickly and effectively.
Prioritizing deepening community by maintaining small group sizes.
Helping Parish Group Leaders shape the purpose and structure of their group in the ways that best fit their unique needs– not binding all groups to the same format and schedule.
We hope these changes will serve our Parish Group Leaders and our Church Family in the coming year as we “Return to Community.”
In the coming weeks, you can get connected with your Parish in the following ways:
Come to your Parish Area Picnic taking place THIS MONTH! This is a great opportunity to connect with old friends and meet new people around where you live. Check out the dates and locations of the picnics here. And as a refresher, Parish Areas are simply geographic regions around metro Richmond that help us better serve our church family. If you live in Richmond, you live in one of our 12 areas– find yours here! Then, within those areas, there are optional community groups called Parish Groups. Everyone lives in a Parish Area, and we invite everyone into Parish Groups!
Connect with the leaders of your Parish Area and your Parish Group! Attend a Parish Area Picnic and connect with your leaders there, and/or shoot them an email, give them a call or even stop by to say “hello!” They would love to connect with you! Your Parish Area leaders are here to welcome you to the area if you are new, provide pastoral care, and see that your tangible needs are being met through our community. See who your leaders are by checking out the map.
Mark your calendars for our BIG “RETURN TO COMMUNITY” EVENT on Sunday, September 12 from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.! Picture “Family Reunion-meets-Festival-meets-Fair”! We’ll have food trucks, music, and games for kids! Representatives from all of our Parish Areas will be there, along with other areas of ministry and small groups such as: worship arts, discipleship groups and classes, men’s and women’s ministry, and MORE! You will have the chance to connect with the leaders from these groups and discover ways to get involved.
All that being said, we know you all have different experiences and backgrounds with Parish Life. We hope you can stay connected, try it out for the first time, or try it out again, if you haven’t in a while.
If you have been a leader or participant in Parish Groups, we hope the coming year will serve to deepen the relationships you have been forming and to develop new ones as well. We encourage you to grab someone who hasn’t been involved yet, and bring them along with you this fall!
If you tried Parish Groups in the past and they just weren’t for you, we hope that you will consider trying again, bringing with you your ideas and gifts to help us continue to grow and adapt in order to better serve the diversity of needs in our church family.
If you have not tried Parish Groups out yet, we hope that you will take this opportunity to meet your Parish Leaders and check out the Parish Groups in your area. There is a place for you at Third to grow in relationship with God and others, and we want to help you find it!
Hope to see you this month!
Jenny Benson, Director of Parish Ministries
Elisabeth Hayes, Pastoral Resident
Derek Mondeau, Pastor of Discipleship and Parish Ministry
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