Hello, Dear Ones!
By the time this newsletter hits your inbox, we will have celebrated another Christmas and welcomed the arrival of a new year, one in which we as a congregation will spend learning and growing alongside one another as we work to create the church we will become. In my short time thus far as a full-time staff member, I have had the joy of attending meetings of both the Seminar and Small Groups committees, and am so excited about the slate of offerings ahead of us this winter! We are so fortunate to gather in a community with such talented, creative, knowledgeable individuals who are willing to share their gifts- not just through speaking engagements and leading groups, but through the offerings of workshops at our Men’s Retreat held last fall, or our upcoming Women’s Retreat January 31 – February 2.
Truly, the level of engagement we have with one another truly takes my breath away. As I reflect on our annual Chili Lunch and Basket Raffle, I am amazed at the creative chilis and the beautiful cookies that you contributed, and each basket at our was more elaborate than the next. We had so many different delicious menu items donated that we ran out of room, our incredible volunteers kept the entire event running smoothly and together, we raised $4,061.50 in support of our 33 (!) youth attending Work Tour in 2025! To each person who contributed to making the event such a success – Youth United thanks you!!
As we look ahead, the month of January brings us OWL Facilitator training the weekend of January 10-12 (and if you’ve not yet signed up, there’s still time to participate!) I will be leading our amazing high schoolers on Mystery Trip January 17 – 19, followed by our Futures Lab with Rev. Cameron Trimble from Convergence on January 25 – 26. With so many action-packed weekends to kick off the year, I’m so glad I have a weekend at Camp Weed on the horizon at the Women’s Retreat. I hope all of our female-identified members are able to join us as we gaze “Through The Looking Glass” in our search for light at the end of the rabbit hole.
With so many program initiatives coming up at once, I may spend more time away from my desk finalizing preparations and gathering supplies. It’s possible I’ll have reduced access to email for questions you may have, so please feel free to text me at 352-870-0749 if you need to reach me. 🙂
Tami <3