On Sunday, May 17th, 44 members of Salem United Church of Christ gathered in the fellowship hall, to begin the process of discerning and discussing what the Core Values for our congregation might be. Through the work of Seven Small Focus Groups (Wagons in the Wagon Train exercise that Larry lead), each group chose what they considered to be their most important, Core Values, listing them from 1 through 10 in order of importance.

A CORE VALUE is the choice which a person, or a group of people such as a congregation, consistently prioritizes in their daily behavior. The choice can be either deliberate or spontaneous, but must be apparent in both planned and unrehearsed experiences of that person or group of people. Our CORE VALUES shape the normative, day-to-day behaviors of a person, or a congregation, whether they are at work or at play