Westside Stories Returns!

By Rev. Carol Bodeau

Dear Friends,

This month, the Marketing Committee and the staff at Westside have been talking about how to share more of the “Westside experience” in ways that don’t require being physically in our building. Many Westsiders join us mostly or entirely virtually, and this means that getting the ‘feel’ of Westside activities requires a little more thought for those of us creating virtual content.

The old newsletter masthead, circa 2003.

This has led to a decision to change our regular ‘blog’ format. For the last couple of years, we have had a rotating schedule of blogs from me, the Board, our Membership Coordinator, and a few other voices (most recently our Green Sanctuary team). But we’d like to expand that, and shift to a less ‘report-like’ format, and a more narrative style of sharing.

So, in the coming weeks and months, you’re going to hear a wider range of voices in this column. And they will be sharing their direct experiences of what it’s like to participate in Westside activities, like our evening discussion groups, our worship team, our choir, our book club, etc. I will continue to write regular reflections, as well as adding some pieces on the history of Westside. Our Membership Coordinator, Elizabeth Corbett, will continue to share about activities going on, and people who are new to our community. And the Green Sanctuary Committee will continue to share regularly, though a bit less frequently, about their activities.

In future, you will hear occasionally from the Board in this column, but instead of monthly ‘blogs’ will be getting regular (quarterly) ‘reports’ from our finance team about how things are going for us fiscally.

I will be supporting this new program by maintaining a schedule, helping with writing prompts, and reading things before we post them, so I look forward to working with you as we try out this new format.

This is an experiment in communicating more effectively, so please share your responses with us. Let us know what you’d like to learn about at Westside, what you love, and if you are someone who is interested in sharing a reflection.

So glad you are part of the Westside community,

Rev. Carol