Sacred Conversations
Listening is a deeply sacred practice, which both connects us to our higher power and to our neighbor. Listening builds relationships. When we take time to really know someone, we learn what hurts them, what brings them joy, and what their passions are.
Listening also strengthens congregations. It lays the foundation that every voice matters and reminds us that, as we say at Edgehill, Everyone has a place at this table!
And listening builds the power to create change in our communities—when we discover common needs and hopes and act together. This is a basic tenant of community organizing.
Congregations participating in Transforming Congregations and Communities through Sacred Conversations
Sacred Conversations at Edgehill
Edgehill UMC is a founding member of NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope), a coalition of 70 congregations, labor unions, and community groups. Learn
Learn more about Edgehill’s involvement in NOAH.
Along with five other churches, we’re participating in NOAH’s project Transforming Congregations and Communities through Sacred Conversations over the next several months.
We are training a team of interviewers to sit down for one-on-one conversations with members of Edgehill UMC and our neighbors in the community. These are sacred conversations because truly listening to one another is holy work—and sometimes God’s voice is best heard through another’s story.
Through these conversations we hope to:
Build deeper relationships within our church and community.
Discover the passions of our members that can guide Edgehill’s future.
What do we want to carry forward?
What new things might God be calling us to create?
Learning from NOAH
NOAH’s model has already proven powerful. From one-on-one conversations, NOAH has:
Secured more than $150 million for affordable housing.
Helped break the school-to-prison pipeline by advocating for public school supports.
Added mental health professionals to police response teams.
These victories grew out of relationships, shared stories, and collective action.
At the same time, many congregations today are struggling—fewer members, overstretched leaders, financial strain, and disconnection from their communities. That’s why this work of listening and organizing is so urgent.
Strengthening Our Congregation
This project is about community change as well as renewal within the church itself.
At Edgehill, we’ll be sitting down with one another to ask:
What is stirring in your life?
What concerns weigh on you?
What brings you joy?
As a team, we’ll listen for the common threads that can weave our future together. This is also a beautiful way for new and longtime members alike to deepen their connections. This listening work is also an important part of how we are members of NOAH: We help NOAH listen to the community—the concerns, the needs, the assets of people here in Nashville. It’s how we “organize for action and hope”, which impacts all of us
Goals & Timeline
Hold at least 80 one-on-one conversations with members and neighbors. (Sept 1 – Thanksgiving)
Discern directions from these stories and create plans to carry Edgehill into the future with love, hope, and action. (Early 2026)
Integrate spiritual practices that strengthen our faith throughout the process. (Ongoing)
Many faith traditions teach that every person carries a spark of the divine. When we truly listen to one another, we may hear not only each other’s voices—but also the call of God for our church.
Would you like to share your story in a Sacred Conversation? Would you like to learn how to be an interviewer? Contact us!