Happy fall everyone!

As Lisa reported in last week’s Circuits, two of the outcomes of the annual Board retreat work are the Annual Focus of Ministry (AFOM) and the Open Questions. This year’s AFOM is “to explore how our differences can strengthen our connections and commitment to one another and how we can apply what we learn to help us imagine what’s possible for the future of our congregation.” As indicated in its name, the AFOM is meant to be a key focus of the ministers and the ministry teams and it will be a thread we will see underlying much of their work this year. The Open Questions, on the other hand, are the work of the congregation. Together we will consider the following questions: “What are we afraid of?”; “Who are we really?”, and “We sing ‘roots hold me close, wings set me free.’ How do we discern what to let go, what to carry forth, and what to create?”. These are deep questions, and there are no right or wrong answers. We use them to guide our conversations with one another and to help us listen closely to the currents of those dialogues so we can use what we hear to help steer the congregation in the directions it is wanting and needing to go. We hope these questions resonate with you and that you will work together with us to listen to what our answers to them tell us. The first congregational Open Questions event this year will be on Sunday, November 6, right after service. Please make a note of it on your calendars. Additional details on the shape this event will take will be forthcoming after this week’s board meeting. We hope you will be there!

With love

Bridget