Dear friends, As our Board President, Gillian Hunt, mentioned in her blog last month, the feeling of spring seems to make us aware of all sorts of new growth and new possibility. There are many new things happening at Westside, which give us the opportunity to reflect on what seeds we want to plant now, to see grow in the future.
Gillie mentioned one such seed: the Welcoming Congregation renewal process, which our new Welcoming Congregation team will be working on in the coming months. Gillie also mentioned the possibility of Westside hosting an intern minister. It turns out that this possibility isn’t going to work out this year, but the process that we—the Board, the Committee on Ministry, and I—have gone through considering it has been incredibly educational. So we have the possibility now of planting the seeds for a future internship with Westside as a teaching congregation. We also have many new folks attending Westside, and getting involved in all the various groups and activities we sponsor. And we’re talking about new ways of creating worship, based on your ideas and suggestions for what you’d like to see, hear, and experience. There are possibilities for expanding our summer camp program in future years, and creating new adult Religious Exploration opportunities in the coming months. So, there’s plenty to be excited about. What are you excited about in your own life? What seeds do you want to plant, that you will be able to harvest in the coming months or even years? And what things that haven’t turned out quite as you planned can be educational fertilizer for future dreams? Or maybe you have an idea for Westside that you’d like to share. I’d love to hear it! As spring arrives, and we feel the warmth of lengthening days, I hope you are able to reach towards some new inspiration, some new possibility, that you would like to cultivate. And I hope that you will share those hopes and dreams with your Westside community, so that we may nurture and support you as you grow.
In optimism and enthusiasm, Rev. Carol