Proposal for Fall 2009 Schedule & Gatherings

After reviewing the Doodle polls for scheduling and planning, and after several conversations with members and visitors, I'd like to propose the following schedule of gatherings for the 1st Presbyterian Church of Second Life:

Weekly Prayer Service

 * Sundays @ 7pm SLT (same as now) at the 1PCSL meeting house, with time for conversation and fellowship afterwards.
 * In order to make planning & preparation easier, I also propose adopting a simplified, consistent (but familiar) format based on the Book of Common Worship. We can still do Taize services on an occasional basis, and whomever is leading would still be free to vary the service as needed.

Weekly Conversation Group

 * Move to Wednesday nights @ 7:30pm SLT
 * This time is overwhelmingly the best time for most to meet. However, it conflicts with Koinonia's worship time, also on Xenia, and poses a challenge for server capacity.
 * I propose we meet off-Xenia at various member homes (aka Neill, MB, Menchor, and Pelagius, who has offered use of Dawntreader facilities) on a rotating basis. We can leave signs with landmarks at the 1PCSL meeting house directing visitors, as well as inform regulars of location via notification and SLURL (via twitter/facebook).  It would be a great change of scenery, give us a chance to explore new places, and contribute a "homey" kind of vibe to the conversation.

Monthly SL Orientation Class

 * 2nd Saturday of each month @ 8am SLT (since this is monthly, we could and should also experiment with different times)
 * I'm hoping we can rotate leadership of this among those who are (more or less) experienced with SL.
 * With rotating leadership, we can also emphasize different aspects of SL according to personal aptitude and preference.
 * Field trips are a good idea for this, too, although it would be helpful to generally start @ the 1PCSL Meeting House on Xenia to cover a few basics with those who are really new.

Monthly SL Project Teams

 * To be organized by interest and as needed, meeting on a monthly basis
 * Best times are Tuesday or Friday nights @ 7pm SLT (per Doodle poll)
 * Some good uses for this that we've discussed, and that have generated interest, include:
 * Planning/Organizing a "Meet the Moderator Night" with Bruce Reyes-Chow
 * Planning/Organizing for SL General Assembly 2010 Event
 * Planning Service Project Events to raise awareness and/or funds for various causes
 * Planning/Organizing Ecumenical gatherings and/or events with other groups and causes in SL
 * 1PCSL Leadership meetings

Commitment to 1PCSL "Sister Ministries"

 * Since we're no longer meeting on a regular basis on Tuesday nights, we should encourage any community members who are able, to attend Church of the Dawntreader worship services Tuesday nights at 7 pm SLT on Born.
 * During the time after Koinonia's Wednesday night service ends and before our conversation begins (7pm - 7:30pm), all community members who are able to are encouraged to join us at Within the Vine (also a sister ministry) for joint conversation between our two groups and any others who would like to help support Within the Vine's goal of dialogue and unity among faith communities.

Adoption
I'd like to propose that, unless anyone has any serious concerns about any of the items, we adopt and support this schedule beginning next week (Sep. 27 - Oct 3). If there are things you'd like to discuss and possibly change before we adopt it, we can do so at our Tuesday night gathering (tonight), by sending an IM to the 1PCSL group, or via the "discussion" tab on this page.