Westminster
HomeHow did we get to be a Congregation of Promise? It has taken us some time to get here. We began over three years ago when Fritz Schilling, our minister, invited some folks to attend the first Alliance for Youth Regional Summit gathering. This was a direct outgrowth of Colin Powell's founding of America's Promise on a national basis. His idea is this: "It is clear that if we can match a child with a caring adult, we have gone a long way toward steering that child away from trouble and towards a successful adulthood."
America's Promise seeks to promise five things for every child:
Knoxville was an early respondent to Colin Powell's challenge. As a result of splendid leadership, it has become a pilot project for many other areas. The mission of Knoxville's Promise is to "mobilize people from every sector of Knoxville/Knox County to build the character and competence of our children and youth by fulfilling the five promises of America's Promise". It has become an umbrella group connecting volunteers with organizations already at work. It provides training opportunities, communication, encouragement and networking.
The efforts in Knoxville began with the schools. Some of our young people attend Schools of Promise and can tell you about good things that are happening. About two years ago a program was designed for Congregations of Promise, working through churches to accomplish the five promises. Westminster, with the approval of the Session, was the fourth church to indicate its desire to become such a congregation. Representatives from numerous churches are working toward that goal. They meet monthly to share ideas and learn about community resources.
The original task force at Westminster met with Fritz to share ideas and plan the approach. Others joined with the group, and Chris Berwanger, our assistant minister, helped us through the "questionnaire" phase to determine to what extent our members are already involved in volunteer efforts with children and youth. We were amazed at the significant involvement of Westminster folk, as evidenced by the 56 questionnaires that were returned.
The present Leadership Team has determined that Westminster's first effort would be made toward Promise #1, "Caring Adults," which is believed to be the most important promise. This is something we already do well in many areas, but our goal is to expand our opportunities to include more relationships between children and adults. Caring within and beyond the family consistently is found to be a powerful factor in protecting young people from negative behaviors and in encouraging good social skills, responsible values, and positive identity. (The opportunity to give back through community service, Promise #5, is something that Westminster has emphasized for a long time -- long before there was an "America's Promise" -- and we will of course continue to emphasize it.)
On Sunday, February 3, 2002, Westminster officially became a Congregation of Promise, and the worship services at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on that day were a celebration. Madeline Rogero, executive director of Knoxville's Promise, along with Tracey Farr Tymon, their liaison with Congregations of Promise, were our guests, and they had the "Minute for Mission" at each service. Following the 11:15 a.m. service there was a reception with a signing of the official document.
When Westminster became a Congregation of Promise last February, we chose to emphasize the first of the five promises: "An ongoing relationship with a caring adult." We wanted to become acquainted with each of our children and youth, and provide opportunities for adults and youth to interact. (The red wagon bulletin board, located in the old Narthex, with pictures is a part of that first step. It will be updated soon.) This year we have had many such interactive events, and we hope you have enjoyed these opportunities to get acquainted with more of these delightful young people.
As we celebrate our first anniversary in February, we want to continue with the first promise and add another of the promises: "A marketable skill." The kick-off for an all-year-long emphasis will be a groundhog shadowing day of youth with adults. This will be similar to that of the school system, except that we will pair members of our own congregation -- adults sharing part of their workday with a youth. Perhaps this will provide an opportunity for all of us to consider how we express our faith through our work. To succeed, we will need volunteers! Knoxville's Promise (Alliance for Youth) has many resources to help us plan a successful event. We will be asking for adults who can participate by sharing part of their workday. The scheduled date is February 21, 2003. Please contact us if you can help. Thanks! (The K.P. Krew)
10/14/2002