Dear Friends,
It has been so good to be back with you all following my sabbatical. In the month I have been home, I have loved seeing your faces, catching up on what you’ve been talking about and working on over the summer, and sharing a few of my own adventures with you as well. Being back with this community is a gift, and I am deeply grateful for both the time away and the privilege of coming home to UCG.
As we look ahead, we are entering a new and exciting chapter in our current time of transition. Soon, we will be forming a Search Committee for our next settled pastor. But before we post that job description (called our church profile), we still have important work to do together.
Your church leadership is exploring and working hard at making sure our governance structures are clear and meet best practices. All of us will be invited to spend some intentional time on vision and identity work, asking who we are now, who we are called to become, and what kind of minister will best walk beside us (and possibly give us a helpful push) into that future.
Meanwhile, we are still joyfully celebrating our 60th anniversary! This Sunday at our congregational meeting, we’ll share some exciting announcements, including the theme that will carry us through the rest of our anniversary year, along with details about our challenge budget and enlistment campaign. It promises to be a day rooted in gratitude for our history and full of hope for all that lies ahead.
I want you to know how committed I am in this journey with you. I believe, without question, that we have brilliant days ahead and an incredible story to share with the world. This is a season to bring your whole self, your voice, your presence, and your support, as we take the next faithful steps together.
To quote myself from last Sunday:
As UCG casts its vision for the future, the charge before us is clear:
To labor together in meaningful work.
To nurture meaningful relationships that honor difference without division.
And to carry a living hope that dares to believe that our mission, calling, and compact matter…
The door is open, and we believe there is something on the other side. Let us walk through it together, with faith, with hope, and above all, with love.
Love,
Talia