January was a big month for us as a community. Individually, many of us were passing a variety of viruses around our homes. As a community, we began with the news of Andy’s retirement from congregational ministry at the end of April and finished with a very full Sunday morning, welcoming new members, gathering at the communion table, and having our congregational meeting. A lot of folks breathed deep sighs of relief when we finally got to February, but I have to tell you, friends, I think the month was a good preview of the months ahead. And that’s a good thing! At our congregational meeting, Karen Johnson updated us on the work of the compensation task force, and we approved the change to our by-laws needed to create a Board of Human Resources, which will be a wonderful support to our staff and ministers in ensuring that we are an employer whose practices reflect our values. Liz Harvey described the recent efforts of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, and the ongoing need for funding in order to maintain our campus. I reported on our involvement in the Vinery (more below!) and Talia shared the news that the Board of Children, Youth, and Families is working on a grant proposal for the Lilly Foundation’s Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. The grant is a particularly exciting opportunity for us to increase our capacity to accommodate the needs of diverse children and to support parents and other caregivers in the work of raising children.  Our application is due February 13th and we should hear sometime in the summer if our proposal is successful. 

I’m working on the grant application with Talia and a number of other UCGers who work as editors, grant writers, therapists, faculty, and teachers, and it is so wonderful to be dreaming big dreams about how we might even more fully serve the needs of our neighborhood and community.  At Sunday’s congregational meeting, Bill Zegel and I also spoke and shared another opportunity for all of us to dream big dreams for our congregation. One of the recommendations of the Financial Sustainability and Stewardship Committee was that we begin the work of a capital campaign for our congregation. 

Bill noted, “Our church community occupies two and a quarter acres. The county assessor tells us we have an investment of over 2.6 million dollars in our property. 

 “Wow! 2.6 million!

 “I remember when there was only one brick structure here built in 1952. It was a brick skeleton with a roof when we arrived in 1975. I remember working with other church members to make it a real meeting place. I particularly remember installing drywall. There is some of my sweat and blood behind those walls. We now call it Reimer Hall.

 “Over the years the initial structure of the congregation served us well, but as our congregation grew, the limitations of our space limited our ministries.  We entered into a process of congregational discernment: should we build a sanctuary, seminar, and office spaces?  Should we expand our church campus to reflect the growth in our numbers?

 “It might seem, in hindsight, like a no-brainer. Of course we would want to grow our capacity for ministry. But the decision to build – to hold a major capital campaign – was a decisive moment for us. We knew we might lose some of the intimacy of being a small congregation. We knew we must raise a lot of money and take on some debt. But eventually, we determined that we were ready to take those risks to be the church we wanted to be. To serve the community more fully, to nurture our congregation, and to live into our compact.

 I added, [that] “the Financial Sustainability and Stewardship Committee also learned a great deal from the newly-formed Buildings and Grounds Committee – known by many as the “Re-mod Squad.” And both those groups found that our congregation’s ministries are once more being limited by current constraints of our physical plant.

• Our beautiful, shady courtyard features several trip hazards from shallow root systems and no shortage of drainage issues.

• Our kitchen does not have a dishwasher that would allow us to move to reusable, more sustainable, serving options at fellowship time and community meals.

• The plumbing on the west side of the building cannot support the intensive use we see with the groups we already host and support, much less any growth in programming.

• We are, many of us, praying without ceasing that our aged air conditioning systems do not give up the ghost before we can raise the money for more energy-efficient replacements.”

Bill continued, “A host of boards and committees agree that a major capital campaign is needed in the near term. We know that we need funds for building repair and maintenance, but this moment is also, as the one thirty years ago, a deciding one for the future life of our congregation. What choices can we make now, what dreams can we dream, that will enable us to sustain our existing ministries and to increase our ability to serve our wider community for the generations to come?

 “Over the next few months, our capital campaign exploratory committee will invite your input in multiple ways. Through surveys and small groups, table talks and telephone calls, we’ll be asking you to weigh in on our future together. What do you see that needs to be in our vision for the next 30 years at UCG?

 “This is an opportunity to live up to our values. We can upgrade the elements of our property, include technologies to reduce our environmental footprint, and improve our ability to serve our congregation and the wider community. At our Spring Congregational Meeting, it is the hope of our exploratory committee to share the results as goals and projects, and to officially launch our next capital campaign.

“Stay tuned.”

Even before we knew Andy was planning to retire, many of the leaders of UCG had begun planning the congregational processes of imagining the next months and years of our life together. The possibility of a grant and a capital campaign were on the horizon, as well as the completion of one Three-Year-Plan Cycle and the beginning of another. Now, we add the work of imagining what ministerial/staffing configuration will best meet our needs as we live into our future together. We are planning all these conversations carefully — making steady progress but in no rush. We will want your input at every stage. 

In my sermon on Sunday, before that epic meeting, I asked us to consider what it might look like as we take flight together, and to remember that even in times when we are uncertain about what, exactly, our plans will hold, we can be certain that we will walk and discern together. 

This month has been a lot, and the next months will hold a great deal more, but I am excited, as ever to be the church with you. 

Grace and Peace,

Bromleigh