10/15/22: Leadership Retreat

There were 24 of us who met in Fellowship Hall, filled with energy and spirit, as we met with Karen McClintock, Fred Grewe and Paul Seymour last Saturday morning to be affirmed, inspired, and led by Faith into the unknown.

Beginning with a blessing and introductions, a bunch of tennis balls gave us plenty of metaphors for communication, and pitfalls therein. We learned about healthy communication styles and how to avoid the unhealthy. And Karen led us into understanding about Interim time for the church. Fred will be our Interim Minister and we are an Interim Congregation.

Fred talked about our stories and how the truth is not always factual. We took a stab at authoring a story of our own and sharing with others. Our stories are the marrow of our lives—they are sacred and so important.

And Paul got us moving around the room as we divided ourselves according to Myers-Briggs, not using the familiar letters, but by concept. I looked around and noticed that Council was always on both sides of the line, a real mixture of decision-making profiles—and how these differences are a good thing.

Finally, Karen talked about her time with us. Council will appoint a Self-Study group of 5-8 people who will support Karen in setting up Listening Posts, which are meetings of small groups where we tell our story. EVERYONE is expected to sign up for a Listening Post, to be held over time to make room for all. Whether you are a member, a friend of the church, or someone who left the church over the past year, we want you to participate and add your story to our story.

A letter will be sent explaining qualifications for and seeking interest in serving on the Self-Study group, including how to make an application. This core group will play an important role in our collective healing. See Invitation to join Self-Study Group.