In the three weeks since the Day of Discernment (September 17) the senior staff and I have been working away at the next stage of the discernment process and are getting ready to present a “first cut” to our wider leadership group early next week.

Feedback from this group will be incorporated into a draft that will go to the Church Leadership Team. We have set aside a Friday night/Saturday morning (October 14-15) to continue to discern our priorities as a community of faith for the next several years. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for that weekend and the ongoing work.

I don’t want to say too much as we are so early in the process, but there are a few significant themes – currents you might say – that are shaping our conversations and early discussions. The first is the significance of nurturing relational connections. This is counter-balanced, secondly, by our time constraints. These two currents work against each other, you might say, but must be navigated. There are other similar doublets that are emerging, but this is the one that has stood out early for us.

As you pray for this process, pray for the wisdom to navigate these sorts of competing realities in ways that are Spirit-led, sustainable, innovative, and creative. I look forward to giving another update in a few weeks as we get closer to our end of year church meeting.

See you Sunday as we continue to explore the courageous life!