Let’s Get Together
Pr. Randy Gehring
Welcoming ACE Academy to our facility has been an exercise in adaptation, patience, and flexibility. It is a delight to see smiling friendly faces around the building Monday through Friday as they move through their summer programming. I can’t help but think that those who first imagined the beautiful addition to our church are likely smiling as well as the building they had a hand in creating is now more fully utilized than it’s ever been.
As you read last month, however, the transition was not as smooth as we would have liked, and one of the takeaways from that experience is that we did not communicate as well as we should have with the congregation about who ACE is and why it makes good sense to partner with them. This has had the unfortunate consequence of creating confusion that has gotten in the way of our call to holy hospitality and serving the common good. For this avoidable misstep, I apologize on behalf of our entire team and pledge to improve our communication in the future.
To that end, members and friends of the congregation will have three upcoming opportunities for conversation and reflection with members of the Governing Board prior to the mid-year congregational meeting, which is scheduled for Sunday, July 23, at 11:45 a.m., in The Gathering Place. The purpose of these Ever Forward open forums is to present the proposed ministry plan (budget) for the new fiscal year and the rationale behind it so that folks have a chance to be in conversation with each other about what’s being proposed and provide any feedback they may have well before we need to adopt the new plan.
Three forums have been scheduled to give a variety of options so that as many might participate as possible.
♦ Wednesday, July 12, at 7:00 p.m., in the Friendship Room (immediately after the Summer Blast)
♦ Sunday, July 16, at 11:35 a.m., in the Friendship Room
♦ Wednesday, July 19, at 7:30 a.m., in the office conference room
These forums are open to all members and friends of Our Savior’s, and participants may attend more than one, if they desire. The board’s hope is that these opportunities for conversation will provide helpful information, generate enthusiasm for the ministry we share, and inspire within us a vision for a vibrant sustainable ministry as we move ever forward.
Looking forward to good conversation,
Pr. Randy Gehring