From the President – July 2010
As I sat here looking at a blank screen, my deepest fears come true. What if I cannot think of anything to say! So much has happened since I agreed to become president-elect and now here I am, and I am supposed to share words of wisdom with you all.
At this time I do not have as much wisdom to share, but I do have a challenge for you. As we enter into the third year of an interim ministry we must begin to have the difficult conversations so that we can decide what we want our church to be, how we want to be together, and how we want to make our mark in this community.
There have been a lot of individual conversations around the meaning of membership. Should all members be expected to pledge? Is volunteering for the church an expectation each of us should have of ourselves? Let us bring these conversations out into our congregation. The Stewardship and Membership Committees have begun meeting to discuss some of these issues. I propose to broaden these discussions and I challenge you to make yourself heard. When we have congregational conversations (and we will), please join us in those conversations. To move forward, we need to hear from you. Jean Newland and Sally Taylor are cochairing the Membership Committee, and Pam Philips is convening the Stewardship Committee. Call them, email them, write a letter via snail mail, and/or attend a meeting. We are talking about your membership and how we can make it meaningful and significant to each one of you, so join the conversation.
How do we want to move forward in the future? This discussion centers around not only space, but commitment to the community. Is growth a realistic goal? Do we need more space to meet our current mission? Our long range plan was dusted off and looked at this year. We need more people to join us in determining the next steps.
We have made great strides in being a major part of this community. PACEM and IMPACT involve a lot of people making a real change in the community. The Social Action Council redesigned their social action collection procedure to make it more open, and to focus on specific community needs. With this program we are supporting twelve important organizations, making a difference in individual lives. We are so generous in our support to the community; how can we be less so to our church, which provides the infrastructure, staffing, and other support to make our community involvement possible?
I look forward to participating in these conversations with you. Please do take the challenge and attend a meeting you have always planned on going to, but have not made it to quite yet. Email your ideas to a committee chair. Chat with a Board member (we have the colorful nametags!) Please know that you are always welcome to attend the board meetings on the second Thursday of every month. We have a public comment time set aside just to hear from you.
In peace,
Donna Baker
President, Board of Trustees
