I have started the practice of choosing a “word of the year” – a word to help guide my intentions, activities and outlook during the year. This year I have chosen “opportunity” as my guide. Opportunity means to me looking for the possibilities, being open to the options and being intentional about my choices.
As I think about the work of your Board of Trustees, this word applies too. We have a wonderful opportunity to use the talents and experience of Margret while she’s here – only another short 2 ½ years. She is working with the Board and the Policy Work Group to ask the difficult questions about who we are and how we want to govern ourselves. The answers will help create the framework within which we can create the three cultures we identified back in November of 2019 as important: the cultures of trust, abundance and connection.
We will be working with you all as well, through the listening circle format, to create a church-wide covenant. Facilitators will be going through training in the next month, then the conversations will begin. We also invite you to attend the Board meetings to hear our discussions.
The Board is very excited to be starting this work, and we thank YOU for this opportunity. If you’ll pardon the expression, this is the “meat” of our developmental work. This is the work that can examine our options and help us be intentional about the choices we have for our church community. This is OUR work, not mine or Margret’s or any one person’s. It’s work we MUST do together. We have created this opportunity for ourselves. Now let’s work with curiosity, openness and energy to make the most of it.
-Jennie Stone