It is a common practice to make “New Year’s Resolutions” as we begin the new year.  These are usually personal resolutions that involve committing ourselves to becoming a better person in some dimension of life.  Many of these resolutions are familiar to us because we seem to make them year after year after year.  That’s usually because we failed to follow through on a resolution the previous year (or years). 

For instance, this year I am once again making a New Year’s Resolution to exercise more, get in better physical shape, and lose some weight.  I’ve been making this same resolution for a few years now.  Before making this resolution again, I spent some time analyzing what went wrong with carrying out this resolution in previous years.  I decided that my past failures had two basic causes.  First, I didn’t develop a plan for exercising more and losing weight.  Second, I didn’t really believe that I would be successful in developing a new exercise routine. 

However, I’ve decided that this year is going to be different.  I’m going to develop an exercise plan with some help from a trainer at my local gym.  Part of this exercise plan will include some realizable mile-posts along the way.  By setting and achieving intermediate mile-posts, I will be able to see myself making progress and hopefully my self-confidence and determination will grow as a result.

Thinking about personal resolutions led me to an interesting question:  Should churches make New Year’s Resolutions just as individuals do?  If so, what resolutions should we make at Meriden UMC?

In my thinking, I finally decided that while churches do not need to make “New Year’s Resolutions,” they do need to set goals for each year.  Further, these goals should grow out of and reflect our unique set of values and priorities at Meriden UMC.  But, this raises another important question:  What are our values and priorities at Meriden UMC? 

Since September, we have been involved in a process for identifying the values and priorities that define Meriden UMC as a community of faith.  On the basis of these values and priorities, we will establish some long-range goals for our congregation.  Ultimately, I hope that we can establish 3-5 goals for the next five years.  Once these goals are established, then we can think strategically about some mile-posts that will help us measure our progress and build confidence along the way.

We began this process in the fall with our “Blue Sky” events.  At these events, persons were encouraged to dream boldly about our church and its prospects for the future.  I recorded everyone’s hopes and dreams.  The results from all of the “Blue Sky” events are being compiled into a single report that should soon be available to everyone in the church.  We will use this “Blue Sky Report,” as well as other information, for the next steps in the planning process.

From the beginning, I have tried to make this process as open as possible for everyone at Meriden UMC.  We want everyone to have input into the values, goals, and priorities of our church.  Everyone is important and we want to value everyone’s insights and dreams.  Therefore, it is important that everyone commit to participating in the meetings this winter, as we continue and complete this planning process.