A big thank you to all of you who participated in the fourth of our congregational meetings about the transition process! Led by Dan Wiseman, a facilitator from the Mid-America region, we engaged in a process to begin to describe our vision for our future.

Utilizing a multitude of post-it notes and chart paper, we responded to the question "What would we envision for ourselves in five years in the areas of worship, internal programs, social justice and congregational governance?" We then clustered the ideas, found themes, and ultimately prioritized our keys to success in order to become a vibrant and purposeful congregation. The top two priorities were having a strong worship life and engaging in meaningful social justice work. All the ideas are posted in the foyer of the fellowship; feel free to peruse them and engage in continued conversation!

At their spring retreat on May 31, the Board and Transition Team will be addressing all the ideas from the workshops held this year.

We're very pleased that the facilitator for this workshop will be Dan Wiseman, a professional consultant to non-profit organizations. He also has experience working with a great many religious communities. We're grateful to the Mid-America region for arranging for Dan to work with us!

Be sure to put Sunday, April 27, 12:30-2:00 p.m. on your calendar for the fourth of our four congregational meetings about the transition process. We will be considering the topic “How Do We Choose?: Setting Priorities for Our Future.” This will be a workshop in which we identify the values that are core to who we are and who we want to be so that we can establish our next steps to our future.

Lunch will be provided; please contact Norma Bailey (baile1nj@cmich.edu, 989-560-3952) if you need child care. A progress report of the third meeting is available here on our website.

A big thank you to all of you who were able to attend the first of our four congregational workshops about the transition process! We were able to get a really good look at our 12-year history and see the multiple ways in which we have functioned and changed over time. The large timeline is posted in the hallway between the fellowship hall and the sanctuary; please take time to peruse it when you are in the building.

If you have any pictures of any of the events, or even some events we didn't think of, please feel free to tape them on the timeline. Also, we would like to get the timeline typed in a form that we can share with others, so if you have an idea of how that can be done, please let one of the members of the Transition Team know.

  In love and peace, Your Transition Team