Beloved friends,

On Sunday, I noted that we have a lot of rebuilding to do in our congregation. The last two years have been hard on just about every congregation I know. There’s widespread exhaustion among volunteers and members, giving has decreased across congregations, and leadership is stressed. There’s much to do as we come back to in-person.

First, we’ll be reorganizing our administration to include a bookkeeper to keep us financially up to date. The full plan is still being made, and we’ll be communicating with you as we have full clarity on how it will unfold.

Second, we will be undertaking a process to renew and update our mission, vision, and covenant. The last time we did that work was 20 years ago. Asking each other who we are as a community and what it is we want to do and be in the world will, I hope, help us be clear about how we’ll move forward in the world.

Third, the Board and I will be bringing a proposal to the congregation to use funds from our building fund to upgrade our building to improve ventilation and upgrade our decades old furnaces. Watch for a notice for a congregational meeting sometime in August to vote on those plans.

I hope you’ll be part of this work among other projects and programs as we come more and more back into in-person church.

This Sunday will be our first time recognizing Juneteenth in our worship. We’ll be telling the story of this celebration, and celebrating this important moment in American history.  Release from slavery for the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas was reason for celebration then, and we’ll remember that moment as well as consider how much work we still have to do to find equity and justice.

Our service will be multiplatform, and I look forward to seeing y’all either in-person or online.

Linda