September Newsletter

Dear Church Family,

Wow. As I sit down to write to you all, I’m in awe of how fast time has gone by and also by how much is going on in the life of our church that I am excited to share with you.

We have welcomed Pastor Lauren, and she is getting acclimated. Thank you for welcoming her so warmly. She and I are settling into a rhythm of working together and are eager to see what God has in store for our future.

Pastor Lauren was brought to our team with unique gifts that are helping us meet some vital ministry needs. Much of her energy so far has been focused on helping lead our various music ministries, getting into a flow of practices and learning about our strengths and areas for growth after a season without a leader in these roles. I continue to be amazed and grateful for the many lay leaders who have stepped up during this season, whether playing in the band, running sound, helping with slides or livestream, or faithfully leading through our choir. We are a church blessed with many talented individuals, and I’m grateful for the ways you have served and will continue to support Pastor Lauren as she helps guide these areas of ministry.

We also continue our search for the right person to serve as our accompanist. We are grateful for Josh and the ways he shared his gifts with us, and we wish him well as he settles into his new home in Charleston. Staff Parish and the Leadership Team are continuing our search for our next accompanist, focusing in particular on someone who can support our choir and traditional service.  We are trusting that we will find the right person to join our team and support our worship ministries moving forward.

Pastor Lauren will also be helping support our Children’s Ministries, an area where the church has longed for additional leadership over the last few years. We are excited for the gifts she brings to this ministry as well. Make sure you check out the Children and Families page in this newsletter for upcoming dates and ways that you can help!

Over the summer there has also been a lot of behind-the-scenes work as we begin our partnership with Wesley Community Development. In the office, we have been working hard to gather membership demographics, financial information, and information about our areas of passion and ministry. Wesley CD has already been an important resource as we have been approached about different ways our building can be used by the community.

I’m excited that we have these wonderful spaces to offer to groups in our community while also creating shared-building partnerships that can provide additional income to help cover our expenses. As we move beyond the data collection phase of our work with Wesley Community Development, we look forward to having them meet with the congregation and share more about their findings and recommendations.

Another important step in helping keep us aligned in ministry and vision has been our move to Simplified Leadership. This group will meet for the first time on September 1 at 6 p.m. in Stacy Hall. As a reminder, these meetings are always open to the congregation. Going forward, the Leadership Team will meet monthly on the first Tuesday of each month.

I encourage your prayers for this group, for Pastor Lauren and our staff, and for our whole church as we continue discerning and striving to be the church God is calling us to be in this season.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jessica