We are in the midst of the seven-week celebration of Easter, and it sure has felt like a season of resurrection at UBC!
On April 10, we concluded our visioning process by affirming the final report of our Vision Team. The report represented months of listening to one another and working together to name and form our hopes and dreams for the future. What a day we had, celebrating the conclusion of the visioning process as we shared lunch on the front lawn.
I shared at the April business meeting that we are working to make sure dust does not settle upon our vision report. On the Monday after we affirmed the report, letters were sent to committee chairs representing each of the proposals. We asked that committees begin the work to implement the vision we affirmed. At our July business meeting, we will receive the first quarterly update on each proposal. (That does not mean all of them will be completed by then; some of them will take many months and maybe even a few years to fully implement.)
This season of Easter has also found us welcoming new people into our church community. Indeed, the past three Sundays have seen us forming greeting lines after worship to welcome new members. We are thankful for Harlon Aultman, Mary Travis, Dawn Headley, David Headley, Emma Headley, and Nathan
Headley—the newest members of our UBC family. I am also thankful for the ways that some of our newest members are already giving themselves to the work of the church—whether singing in choir, participating in our mission work, working with our children and youth, or committing to training to become Godly Play teachers.
As the Season of Easter turns to celebration of Pentecost, we have much more to anticipate. On May 8, we will have a parent-child dedication. On May 15, we will celebrate Pentecost. (Don’t forget to wear red, orange, or yellow that day—signs of the Spirit coming like fire upon the church.) On May 22, we will celebrate graduation with Harrison Hicks and Reggie McSwain, two young men that have been nurtured by UBC.
This is a season of life, and I am thankful every day to be part of the UBC community.
Journeying Together,
Rusty
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