This past month several committees engaged in the first of what I hope will be an ongoing event. Along with several members of the Board, they attended a Vision Statement and Covenant workshop. The first part of the session was largely devoted to the process of developing a vision statement for each of the committees in attendance. Patty Dow graciously agreed to facilitate the workshop. Having worked with her myself in the same process a year or so ago, I knew we would be in good hands. Judy Tomlinson led the second part of the workshop by engaging the group in work around developing a covenant. The workshop was developed under the mantle of the Church Council, so
Mike Mernin, Board VP, was involved with the logistics and planning.
I hope that this will be the beginning of an ongoing spiritual practice among the committees of our congregation and as committees are the lifeblood of our community, where better to start? Also, we all know what we do, but it is important also to explore why we do it, whether it be for ourselves or for the good of the community – ours as well as the larger community and world around us. I do not think the work means as much as it does or should without an exploration of the spirit or spirituality behind it.
We got some very positive feedback after the workshop, so we decided to do it again! We will be hosting another workshop on December 9th and hope to have as good a turnout this time as we did the last time. My thanks to all who participated in what I see as a very important step in the life of this congregation.
As always, onward and upward!
Teresa DeSousa
President, Board of Trustees