Dear Parish Family,
This Sunday (December 8th) we will already be into the second Sunday of Advent. If feels like I just got here a minute ago and yet it’s been 14 weeks! I will take the opportunity to spend about 15-20 minutes after each service to update you on where we are in the transition process, and I’ll take some questions. If you have more questions than can be addressed at the time, please email or call me. I’d like to hold an all parish meeting early in the New Year, when we can all be together, share a meal and talk to strengthen relationships and begin to do some visioning work for the future.
For those of you who won’t be here this Sunday, here are some highlights that I’ll bring to the brief after-church discussions:
Group norms for a respectful conversation
Outline for the process of a transition time
We now have an excellent internal finance committee. They are looking into the last few years of the finances to see where we are in relationship to where we were. This is to help us craft the first draft of the 2025 budget.
We’ll talk about the status of the pledge campaign.
I will talk about some new policies and procedures that make us compliant with the constitution and canons of the church with regard not only to requirements, but also best practices for good stewardship of one another and of our finances. This includes required training for staff, lay and clergy leadership, and working with children.
I will talk about our Justice and “Repairing the Breach” (my words) ministries. In short, that remains a high priority!
This is not a comprehensive review, so just short highlights. If you want to continue conversation into coffee hour, I’m there for it!
I also want to announce two new things:
Beginning January 5th, we will have weekly adult formation in the Upper Parish Hall between the two services. We have some excellent and inquiring theological minds at Memorial, so let’s dig in each Sunday between 9:15 and ~10:10. This is the best way to include both the Faith@8 folks and the 10:30 folks. We are one church, and I want all people to have an opportunity to engage in theological reflection. I will also ask the Zoom regulars to talk about a day and a time that works for a Zoom formation opportunity. No one will be left out! CHOIR: I see you, and if you want to weigh in on the day and time of the Zoom adult formation, that will provide an opportunity that does not conflict with your rehearsal.
We will hold a program and party to celebrate Epiphany/Three Kings Day on Monday evening January 6th (our liturgical observance of Epiphany will be on Sunday January 12).
Jan 6 will be a potluck supper, and the topic of the program will be Epiphany: The Season of Exploration. What better way to start the new calendar year than with a party? This will be all fun, part mysticism, part science, lots of theology and full of good conversation. I’m learning so much from the Faith@8 folks about what happens when a group of people get inspired by a text and then organically riff on a number of topics, I wish for you all to have that experience.
I realize that this is not my usual weekly pastoral letter, but I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you these things.
To borrow from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, I close by saying, And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. –Phil. 1:11.
In Christ’s love,
Pan