March 2007

On Tuesday, February 13, the new board had a retreat/board meeting. For four hours we met to reflect on the past year and to plan for the coming year. After reviewing last year’s vision statement, many mentioned that they felt we had successfully met many of our visions – for a welcoming church community, for pursuing peace and justice, for better communications, for meaningful worship services and opportunities for spiritual growth, for outreach to the wider community. There is still (always) work to be done. The new board came up with many creative and thoughtful ideas for goals worthy of pursuing. You will be hearing more about these in the coming months, but some examples include starting a new Bible study group, having more small group activities, recycling, initiating action to reduce global warming, and finding new ways to welcome new guests.

One other theme came through repeatedly – the need to look at our facility needs. We invite your thoughts on this subject, so please share them with a board member. An ad hoc committee will be appointed shortly to develop some recommendations.

Our retreat began with introductions of all board members and an invitation to them to share how they first came to this church, why they stayed and what dreams they had for the church. One of the interesting things to come out of this was hearing reflections by some of our original members on the formation of the church. One member suggested that we record those memories. Later that evening, I thought, wouldn’t it be great to put together a scrapbook capturing the stories of the original members giving their perspective of the formation of our RUCC? I will be calling on those folks to record their stories for a scrapbook for the church. If you are interested in helping with this project, please let me know.

An appreciation of the welcoming and accepting environment of our church emerged as the main reason for us staying here.  An appreciation of the growing diversity of our congregation and how that has enriched our common experience was also expressed as was an appreciation in our ability to “agree to disagree” at times and still remain friends. I would agree with my fellow board members that these three characteristics are key in defining our church.

In addition to talking about goals for our areas, we discussed ways in which the areas can help each other meet our goals. It is my hope that we can take a more holistic approach to doing the work of the church, to work as a team, to include all who wish to help. Isn’t this just an extension of being welcoming and inclusive?

I admit that it was hard to think of new goals. Many of us feel pretty good about how things are going and what we are already doing, but we must continue to challenge ourselves to find new ways to worship and to live our faith, to speak out on behalf of those whose voices are not heard, and to continue to be a welcoming and progressive voice in the community.

As you think about what the 2007 church year will bring, please share your ideas with your area leader or any board member.  We’ve learned that a little church in Redlands can make a difference, so don’t be afraid to dream big!

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