Healthy Congregations, Inc.

Since the 2007 inception of the Membership Network, we have sought to provide you not only with cutting edge research on family systems thinking, but also to create an online portal for collaboration and conversation.  We think our new website goes a long way toward making those later goals a reality.

There are many benefits to becoming a subscriber to the Membership Network.  All benefits of membership, including the National Gathering discount, are valid from October 1 through September 30. At $50 per year, your subscription is an investment in learning and group collegiality that will pay itself back many times over:

• "Main Street Forum" Online Journal - Published four times annually, each edition of "Main Street Forum" focuses on a particular theme. Our vision is that each edition will include an article on the theme, a book review, a testimony, and an article in which a facilitator will relate his/her experience with a Healthy Congregations “product.”  Below is a review of Roberta Gilbert's new book, The Cornerstone Concept: Differentiation in Leadership, excerpted from the November 2008 issue of "Main Street Forum":

  Always seeking to provide ways apply the theory to our own lives, Gilbert provides end notes for “thinking it over” and “real life research” questions at the end of each chapter.  The guidelines provided on pages 81-2 are especially helpful in working toward high level leadership.  With chapter 7, we are provided with a means of evaluating our progress, followed by case studies in chapter 8.
  
  Confronted with the reality that this is solitary work, she calls us to “work the theory” as we take responsibility for self in both the workplace and at home.   The gift of such work, of course, is the opportunity to contribute in a positive way to the emotional systems of which we are a part.  In Gilbert’s words: “… hard work indeed.”
  
  Review by Deborah Rundlett
  Muskingum Valley Presbytery, PC(USA)
  New Philadelphia, Ohio
  

• Discounts - Subscribers enjoy a $25 discount for registration at the Healthy Congregations National Gathering for every year the Membership Network subscription is current.

• Book of the Year - As an added benefit of your subscription, each year of paid membership entitles members to a complimentary book of the year.  Because of Healthy Congregations' reputation in the Family Systems Theory community, we are able to offer members cutting-edge resources even before they are available through retail channels.  The 2010 book of the year is Margaret Marcuson's new book, Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry.

• Downloadable Documents - The Resources section contains a number of documents available for download, including articles and PowerPoint presentations.

• Video Seminars - Several full-length video seminars are available for full-screen viewing by members.  These seminars, some of which are well over an hour long, cover in-depth topics of theory and application.

• Online Collaboration - Online collaboration for subscribers to the Membership Network has been a major goal for the new website. We now feature group discussion forums as well as individual profile pages.

  

• Member-submitted Articles - All current subscribers are able to write their own articles for publication on the Healthy Congregations website, offering an innovative venue for sharing new thought in the application of Family Systems Theory.

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  Social Networking - Members can share as little or as much as they want in their online profiles.

  Connections can be made between any Membership Network subscriber based on Shared Interest, Geography, and other commonalities.
  
  Members who are logged in can also search for other members by state and city to help build offline collegial connections.
  
  As part of our commitment to respecting the data privacy of members, your profile will be created listing only the name, city, and state of members.  All other information, including a profile picture, can be added by members at their discretion.

How do I subscribe to the Membership Network?

To subscribe to the Membership Network, simply purchase it through our Online Store.

After you complete your subscription, you will receive your Book of the Year and Membership Bag in the mail.  You will also be issued a personalized username and password, which you can use to log in to the Healthy Congregations website.  Logging in will allow you to see special features available only to Membership Network Subscribers.  This letter will come physically via U.S. Postal Service for your records.

All benefits of membership, including the National Gathering discount, are valid from October 1 through September 30.