This is the first installment of our monthly Google Hangouts. The first Tuesday of each month, we invite leaders from around The Episcopal Church to discuss topics related to Young Adult and Campus Ministries. You can watch live at 6 pm Eastern time by going to our Google Hangout page. You’ll also find an archive of our past conversations.
This month I was joined was joined by:
Kyle Bos Young Adult Missioner for the Diocese of Western Michigan’s new grant-funded startup ministry to young adults in Grand Rapids.
and
Erendira Jimenez-Pike Campus Minister at the University of Louisville, in The Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky.
Our conversation centered around tools from Community Organizing, and especially around a particular kind of conversation: the One-on-One or Relational Meeting. The leaders talked about how they made a spiritual practice out of inviting people into one on one conversations.
We talked about several tools to learn the skill of One-on-Ones. The first was Ed. Chamber’s Book “Roots for Radicals,” which is essentially a distillation of the Industrial Area Foundation’s week-long training for organizers. You can also check out this One on One Training Sheet for teaching how to do a One-on-One meeting.
If you want to go deeper with one-on-ones, check out the Industrial Area Foundation affiliate, or find another community organizing group in your area.
Kyle also mentioned a book he is using to convene the leaders he has identified through One-on-Ones. He talked about the need to take notes after a One-on-One and referenced Henri Nouwen’s book “Creative Ministry.” As he transitions from building relationships to building community, Kyle and his leaders are reading Jean Vanier’s book “Community and Growth.”
We hope you’ll join us next month, on November 4th at 6 pm Eastern Time. Our topic will be Money Matters: Resources for Fundraising. Sign up here to attend. You can ask questions for the panelists over the next weeks, or live during the Hangout. To ask a question on twitter using the hashtag #yaministry you can also email your questions to mangell@episcopalchurch.org