Since COVID-19 began spreading rapidly across the US, the rhythms and rituals of congregational life have been challenged in a way that is unprecedented for many. The future is uncertain. And while restrictions are being lifted, we don’t know when we will be back to ‘normal’. In this ‘interim’ time, the number and complexity of leadership decisions are exhausting and overwhelming. In a difficult and complicated environment we must discern how we will gather for worship and other programs in a way that fulfills our mission and purpose even if those practices look different now. We need to resist trying to go back to how things were in the past and find a way to navigate through what has become a highly politicized discussion.

Here at RootedGood we want to help you plan for this moment. We have developed an interactive and engaging exercise that will help your congregation or organization have a good conversation and make decisions about how you will gather given the current context. This exercise will take less than one hour and your leadership will walk away with clarity about how to fulfill your core mission and purpose with new or adapted ways of gathering. You can print the PDF and write on it or it can be downloaded and filled out on your computer. How Will We Gather is available in English and Spanish with the same download. You can download the How Will We Gather? exercise for free below.

‍This planning exercise is part of a larger tool called, What Now? A Congregational Planning Tool in the Age of COVID-19. The full tool helps your leadership team through the following stages of planning for all of your congregation’s activities beyond worship. You can access What Now? here.

‍¿CÓMO NOS VAMOS A REUNIR? También está disponible en español. How Will We Gather? is also available in Spanish. When you access the download below you will receive a zip folder containing both English and Spanish.

Download How Will We Gather? today for free

Note: Feel free to return here and download the tool as many times as you would like. You will have to enter your name and email each time, but don’t worry about that! If for some reason you cannot access the download via the link here, feel free to contact us at info@rootedgood.org.