Greetings of the season from the board!

It is the season of giving, but there is continuous sharing of time, talent, and treasure all year long among all those in our community. The generosity of each and every member of this church is much appreciated. We are thankful to be part of this congregation, and appreciate the joyful effort of many moving parts that keep it on track and rolling along. Recently, a dedicated task force accomplished the hiring of a joint Director of Religious Education, and the work of many heads, hands, and hearts of our fellow church members was in full evidence. The Re-opening Panel and Hybrid Service task force (with the support of many others) are planning our safe re-opening. The moving parts are so well-oiled that they work so quietly and smoothly in the background, that they can also go unnoticed. We wish to acknowledge all these “tasks” being accomplished.

In fact, many things happen in this way: Facebook and webpages get updated, weekly updates get published, weeds get pulled, services get pulled together every single Sunday, clothes and food get donated, workshops get presented, holiday gift cards get collected and distributed, Christmas gift bags get assembled and delivered, steeples get refurbished, auctions get organized, music gets sung and played and recorded, RE programs get planned, games get played on game nights, leaks get repaired, paint gets freshened, wireless systems get upgraded, memorial services and collations take place, rents get collected, books get balanced, pledges get recorded, and many, many other things that we consider “everyday happenings” don’t just “happen” – and our gratitude flows to those who “make it happen” on a daily basis.

We want to share the opening words we used at our board meeting this month, which came from the service of our guest minister, and were written by Rev. Peter Spilman Raible:

We build on foundations we did not lay.
We warm ourselves by fires we did not light.
We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant.
We drink from wells we did not dig.
We profit from persons we did not know.
We are ever bound in community.
May it always be so.
This is as it should be.
Together we are more than any one person could be.
Together we can build across the generations.
Together we can renew our hope and faith in the life that is yet to unfold.
Together can heed the call to a ministry of care and justice.
We are ever bound in community.
May it always be so.

We are grateful to be ever bound in community with you all.

Blessings and joy to all,
Kim Hall, on behalf of the Board of Trustees