As I write this, I am just a couple days away from heading to England for two weeks. I’m excited for a pause to relax, enjoy time with my nephews and niece (pending her timely arrival!), and a chance to explore a bit of London if the timing works out. 

It has been just about a month since my term as Moderator began and what a busy month we’ve had! My personal goals for the first month were:

 #1 – Try to increase methods of communication and help everyone feel connected to our ongoing process of finding a path forward.

#2 – Execute the Leadership Summit.

#3 – Run my first series of June meetings.

I hope that #1 has been a success. I’ve enjoyed meeting many of you at the “Ask the Leadership” table. It’s been a nice way for me to connect faces to names. I’ve also appreciated the questions that have been posed. It’s a quick way to learn in real time what questions are floating around so that we know what information we need to provide. Thank you to the various other folks in the laity who have helped out already and to those covering the table while I’m away! 

#2 was a success in my book! We had around 70 folks in attendance. Personally, I was reminded how much I enjoy the opportunities for fellowship in our church. There’s nothing quite like a big church potluck!  In many years, the Moderator picks a theme for their term. Early on as Moderator-Elect, I joked my theme would be “More Parties, Less Meetings.” Then, things got very serious for a while and that felt a bit too flippant. I think I’ve come back around to embracing that theme, though. Although there are still a lot of unresolved big questions, the chance to break bread and learn more about one another can do so much to build our connections to one another. It feels to me like we lost a lot of those opportunities to COVID. I will be looking for ways that I can personally bring more opportunities for joyful connection. 

#3 – Council Exec met the first week in June and Church Council will meet in a couple days (at the time I drafted this). In theory, summer is the slow time at UCG but our agendas would suggest otherwise! There are exciting things happening, progress in our discernment of what our next year may look like, plus all of the routine business of the church. Normally, the Church Council takes the month of July off, but I’ve asked for us to meet this year so we can keep up with all the happenings at UCG. We are an active, bustling, full of life community!

As a reminder, Church Council meetings are open for attendance should you wish to listen in on the process. There will also be copies of the Church Council agenda and minutes (when they are available) at the “Ask the Leadership” table, or they are available by emailing moderator@ucgainesville.org. 

 Peace and blessings to you all – Lindsey.