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Celebrate! Your Church's Anniversary Planning Your Anniversary Celebration
The session should appoint an official anniversary committee for the celebration. One or more members of the session should be on the committee and the committee should represent a broad cross section of the congregation (youth, seniors, choir, etc.). The anniversary committee should meet with the session for a general sharing on ideas about the celebration and to understand the objectives that the session would like to accomplish. Anniversary Committee Responsibilities and Initial Planning Plan a congregational meeting about the celebration soon after the committee forms for the initial brainstorming session. Or, the committee may want to call a congregational meeting after a slate of ideas and projects have been pulled together by the committee that is to be voted upon (you decide how your congregation best works out decisions). Members from the congregation at large may be assigned to preferred sub-committees at this time. Take the plans and projects from the congregational meeting and organize a projected schedule for the celebration. Set the beginning and ending dates for the historical celebration. Is your celebration period to last one day, a weekend, a couple of months or a full year? Check your church, presbytery and community calendars to make sure there are no major events already scheduled that will conflict with your anniversary calendar (events that will pose parking difficulties, cause conflicts with one portion of the church, such as high school events for the youth, etc.) Check with your principal invited guest speakers at this time for their availability. Present the initial calendar to the session for approval. Now that you have a calendar and set time for the celebration, do not change the dates! Consider it carved in stone! If you start changing dates and even the scope of the celebration, it will only confuse the committee and the congregation. Once the session has approved plans for the celebration, each member of the committee must assume special responsibility for at least one specific objective. The committee should have enough members to provide for sufficient attention to each project or event. Enlist congregation members to help out. The session and anniversary committee should set a budget that is within acceptable limits for the congregationĂs finances. Try to stay within that budget. DonĂt try to plan a big celebration if you donĂt have the resources (be they time, people, or money). Small and large congregations find that a weekend event is just as exciting as a year-long one. A celebration can be wonderful without spending a lot of money. ItĂs the spirit that counts! Specific Projects for Historical Celebrations
Other Writing Projects and Activities Write a historical essay for each issue of your newsletter which can heighten interest. Write articles for the local newspaper or regional magazine about your church and its history. Include a few photographs. The religion or community events editor can assist you. Write a series of historical minutes to be presented during worship services throughout the anniversary year. They can be about events or people in the life of the church. Have each member, past and present, write a brief letter of appreciation on "What this church has meant to me." Compile them into a book or file for display and for eventual placement in the heritage room. Plan a fellowship program to read the letters. Have members write prayers expressing their wishes for the future of the church. Perhaps these can be used to develop a mission statement or goals. Write a brief biography of important lay leaders in the church throughout its history. Be sure to include leaders among the youth.
Speakers, Preachers, and Invited Guests A historian, perhaps the writer of the published history, interested in the life of the congregation might be invited to make a principle address to a family night gathering. Invite former ministers to return to preach during the celebration year or for several Sundays before the main event or on the anniversary itself. Hold a "stroll down memory lane" lunch program where ministers relate anecdotes from their time at the church. Invite former members of the church to the anniversary celebration. You may have to track them down through membership rolls in other churches, through current members, or the Internet. Put them on your mailing list to receive special celebration information, particularly if your celebration takes place over many months. Invite officials from all levels of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to participate in your anniversary celebration. Be aware that you might have to get your request for an appearance from the Moderator or Stated Clerk of the General Assembly in a few years in advance. Invite neighboring churches, Presbyterian and other, and their ministers to attend your celebration, or have a special program with them, highlighting mission projects and other aspects in common. Invite political officials in your city, county/parish, and state to participate in your celebration. Invite people in the community whose memory spans the life of the church, even though they may never have been a member of the church, to relate stories Special Music and Worship. Hold organ recitals or chamber music programs by area musicians or members of the congregation. These events can take place on the weeks before the main celebration. Hold a worship service that uses older styles of worship, such as a hymn sing; preach from an old book of sermons; stand during prayers and sit during hymns as in the 18th century; dress up in period clothing and use fans, "tickle feathers", cloth bags for the offering. On the Sunday nearest to the date of the formal organization of the congregation, plan a special worship service as a culmination of the celebration. Pull out all the stops--this is your day! Fun Things to Do with All Ages. A historical observance should certainly take into consideration younger members of the congregation. Intergenerational events always provide the opportunity for growth in fellowship. Play games from when the older members were children. Have youth teach older members some of their games. Collect and display baby pictures of members in the congregation. Hold a contest to match the baby with the member. Bury a time capsule in the yard or building with materials that illustrate the present life of the church's members. BE SURE to make a note in the official records that this was done, indicate where it is, and when it is to be dug up again. Have a big workday to spruce up the yard, plant flowers and shrubs, clean and paint the eaves, clean out the basement, attic and bell tower, paint the nursery and clean the toys, etc. Have a committee make up a to-do list beforehand and purchase supplies. You'll want your building(s) and yard to shine for your celebration. Food. What would a celebration be without a table laden with the bounty of God's good earth around which we can gather and give thanks? Special meals are good opportunities for fellowship and sharing. Hold a reception or tea for special visitors and speakers. It will offer an opportunity for the congregation to visit with these special guests. Plan a special picnic for when former members return. This is provide an informal setting to renew old friendships. Plan activities and games for the kids. Cook recipes from the cookbooks published by the church members. This will promote sales if you're selling it. For at least one main dinner, consider having it catered by a local business that will be responsible for set up, serving and clean up. This is will get those persons who are usually responsible for meals at the church out of the kitchen. Charge enough per person or family to make a modest profit to be able to donate to the food bank or other appropriate mission. Other Ideas to Consider. Since this is a special time, consider doing some things you ordinarily wouldn't do: Use colored paper for bulletins, stationery, envelopes for the entire year. Hold a contest for a special symobol that appears everywhere. Drape the church (inside and out) with banners, flags, pennants, etc. They can be of the special seal or symbol created especially for the anniversary; traditional symbols of faith (cross, chalice & bread, etc.); be in colors of the liturgical year or the season or of special design. Color adds to the festivity of the celebration. Put a big banner or sign outside your church announcing your anniversary and celebration. Be Bold! It will tell your neighbors something exciting is happening. Hire a photographer/videographer to record special events. A professional photographer will know how to photograph a reception. Or, appoint a willing member to be photographer. Make reprints and copies available to members, shut-ins, and former members as mementoes. The Final Special Event. A worship service, convocation, or pageant of some kind serves as a fitting climax to the historical celebration for a congregation. This occasion can be used to bring all of the varies emphases of the congregational celebration into focus. It also serves as a time to note that the period of celebration has been brought to its conclusion and for the congregation to officially make the transition from celebrating its past to looking forward to its future ministry. Concluding the Celebration: Charting the Course for the Future.....
Collect the committees files, reports, photographs and negatives, posters and flyers, videos, mementoes ordered, special writings, bulletins, everything produced for the celebration and make your church's "Anniversary Celebration Collection." Commit to creating a heritage room or at least identifying and gathering in a safe place all the church's records. Do Follow Up. Did new people visit your church? Commit to following up these potential new members. Continue to ask for input of groups or persons who may have made a particularly outstanding contribution during the congregation. Commit to new mission goals. Avoid the pitfall of turning inward and instead use the momentum and joy of celebrating as a way to reach out to others. A well-planned and executed celebration will have stressed the heritage of the congregation and its uniqueness as well as its solidarity with other congregations in the community of faith, both in the Presbyterian Church and the world-wide church. Perhaps the best test of the success of an anniversary celebration in a congregation can be determined by the extent to which a congregation's heritage have been achieved and the extent to which a congregation has arrived at a higher level of corporate consciousness as to its potential role of ministry within its own community and to the world around it.
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Most
importantly, begin by allowing enough time for thorough planning. A well-planned
historical celebration usually requires 12 to 18 months from the time
initial planning begins to the time the celebration begins. If you are
planning on writing a history, start your work at least two years in advance.
Oral/Video
history project. Elderly members of the congregation should be
interviewed in order to gain as much information as possible about
their recollections of the earlier life of the congregation. Oral/video
history interviews may also be useful in gaining second-hand information
(e.g., elderly members who are second- or third-generation members
may remember stories about the congregation from their parents and
grandparents.) It should be kept in mind that oral/video history information
is a secondary historical resource and that we all have fallible memories.
Community
resources. Information may be available about the congregation
and its past members through local newspapers, magazines, and printed
histories of the community. Consideration should also be given to
the community environment in which the church has emerged and grown,
including such elements as ethnic diversity, demographics, industry,
education, etc. Also pay attention to the roles that the congregation
and its members have played in the life of the larger community including
contributions in the area of community leadership.
Historical
Pageant, Plays or Skits. The committee may wish to consider having
a congregational dinner based upon a pageant depicting moments, events,
or persons in the history of the congregation. It might be developed around
significant events in American history (e.g., the Civil War, Great Depression,
etc.) which affected the congregation directly. The pageant might also
be an old fashioned exhibit, complete with period costumes, reflecting
different periods on the congregation's history and artifacts from kitchens,
farms, parlors, etc. whatever reflects the atmosphere in which your church
was founded and grew. This could be the occasion for a more humorous approach
to the celebration, especially if amusing incidents in the life of the
congregation can be determined.
Hold
a potluck supper or other fellowship event to hear and discuss the final
report of the celebration committee. Review achievements, what has been
gained. You might want to use an evaluation form for the congregation
to give its feedback: what were the favorite activities? What were the
unifying event(s)? What were some activities that didn't go over well,
what bombed? The evaluation form and report could serve as an instrument
to determine the kinds of events and activities the congregation finds
most meaningful