With the warming up of the weather and the lengthening of the days, more and more people can be seen going for a walk. The task of walking is so simple, yet so therapeutic. Most people will head outdoors to enjoy this activity in the spring and fall more than summer or winter. Spring is actually the most popular season for walkers to be out and about. Why? Besides the milder temperatures and longer days, there is a newness to the season that instills hope to our winter souls. It is interesting that spring and fall are seen as seasons in transition. The spring leads us into summer. The fall leads us into winter. Both summer and winter are often seen as seasons in which we have arrived (though not in a positive way) and longingly await the next season to come. Of course, beach bums and snow bunnies won’t agree with this, but for the majority of people, this is true.
It is then, in turn, interesting that while we love the transitional seasons that creation offers us, we do not so much enjoy the transitional seasons of life. We actually try to rush through them. We look and long to “arrive” at whatever we are hoping for. Maybe we want to arrive at a new job. Maybe we want to arrive at a new house, a new relationship, a restored sense of purpose, or a hard, worked-for, health goal. Yet it is in the in-between times that we learn so much and grow so much. It is the journey that we tend to spend more time talking about, and telling stories of, than the destination itself.
Our church, right now, is on a journey. I pray that while we are in times of transition, you may be patient and settle into this season of change and the process of discernment that goes along with it. At our March administrative board meeting, we voted on exploring a model known as the Simplified Accountable Structure. This model looks at the potential to revamp our administrative life together. We are made up of many committees. Those committees vary in responsibility. Four of the committees—the Administrative Council, the Staff Pastor Parish Relations Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Trustees Committee— make up our administrative life. The SAS model would focus on simplifying our administrative life and combining down to one board. The two key factors in this “One Board” being effective are accountability and communication.
I want to be clear, we have not voted to make the change to the Simplified Accountable Structure; you all will be a part of that vote when and if it comes. We have simply voted to explore the SAS model. This leads us to a lengthy season of discernment. We have started with discerning that it is time to intentionally make some changes for our growing and shifting life together. As our leaders and volunteers continue to be faithfully committed to the life of God’s kingdom in this place, a restructuring can simply build on the great community we already have and prolong our missional life together. Like spring, we can be a breath of new life for so many and a continued place of hope and joy for all of the seasons in which we are in.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any member of council with any questions you may have, and know you will be hearing more about this and will be given opportunities to be a part of this important transitional time! And as always, be in prayer for us.
From one light to another,
Pastor Hannah Loughman