Last month, writing about our community plate, I mused out loud: “What if we went as deep in our support as we have gone broad? What if we zeroed in on one issue and made a truly noticeable difference?” Well, you did it – and incredibly so. On Sunday, December 10th, instead of the typical … Continue reading Our Safe Spaces Community Plate raised over $19K
I was blown away when Chris S. texted me just two hours after the Interfaith Choir Concert to say that the event had raised more than $11,000 for the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness and its Safe Spaces Campaign. In making the pitch for the Coalition, I had mentioned how much it had mattered to … Continue reading Our Campaign to End Homelessness
As someone who recently moved and experienced my mother’s death, our December worship theme of “Letting Go” resonates strongly with both my outer and inner self. Reckoning with letting go is a lifelong spiritual task for all of us, because change is inevitable and yet holding on, too, is a human necessity. We are social … Continue reading Letting Go
How effective do you think our congregational leaders are? That was one of the questions we asked during our Ends Survey last March to understand how well we are doing reaching our third end/goal. This end states that “we have a broad circle of effective leaders who have the resources to complete their work in … Continue reading Survey Results #3 – Effectiveness of Leaders
In the October Parish Notes, we started to share the results of the Ends (Goals) Survey you completed in March. The analysis each month is based on the survey discussions we have at our church board meetings. The graphs and the summary statistics were generated by board member Suzanne Rude. This was a very substantial … Continue reading Survey Results #2 – Offering and Receiving Help
The church school year is under way, in our second year of re-imagined faith development. Sunday School in the hour before church is becoming the new “normal” for us, and it is a delight to see families arriving – some children bouncing down the hall greeting everyone they meet with big smiles and fresh energy, … Continue reading The Church School Year is Underway
Last March, we circulated our first annual Ends Survey. Ends are statements that talk about the impact we want to see as a result of our ministry together. These ends were adopted by the Board of Trustees with broad-based input from the congregation a number of years ago. For the past few months, the board … Continue reading Survey Results #1 – Connection
Sunday School Classes – Orientation Sept. 17, First Class Sept. 24! We are excited to be expanding our offerings for all ages on Sunday mornings before church this year! From 9:30-10:15 am, we will have faith development classes and activities for everyone, providing an opportunity for us to deepen our understanding and practice of our … Continue reading 2017-18 Faith Development Programs
Joanna Henderson, Guest Columnist I had a big birthday over the summer and went through the annual resolution setting exercise most people do at New Year’s. I do it instead in June, my birthday month. I only make one goal and because for the last few years it’s worked well, I’ve kept the same resolution: … Continue reading Staying Open-Minded
As this church year comes to a close, there is much to celebrate about our Lifespan Faith Development program. We had a fantastic group of teachers for our children’s programs and made the transition to meeting before worship, allowing those teachers to both serve our children and feed their own spirits in worship. The Children’s … Continue reading Faith Development Year in Review
