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Desert Notes May 23, 2024

Love is our Doctrine. Service is our prayer. Justice is our calling.

Desert Notes May 23, 2024

The Transformative Community Conferencing process with Rev. Sam is in its final stages of completion. We have two short gatherings to close this work out after six small groups met for 2.5 hours each and then 6 hours with those participants last Saturday. We’ll offer more reflections from this work soon, but I want to say that it was for me a truly inspiring process–we were honest, vulnerable, and present in ways that I have dreamed of but seldom have experienced with other humans, especially humans experiencing conflict. We truly learned how to live into the phrase, “The people aren’t the problem, the problem is the problem. What is the problem these people are facing?” If it wasn’t so long, I might consider it as a first tattoo! I am so grateful for all of the ways we are learning together and doing shared ministry together to find a new way forward in many areas of our congregational life. 

In addition, we had a beautiful celebration of life service for Rachel Smith and an amazing retirement party and send off for Faith Formation Director Marci Beaudoin.  Collectively, we’ve been holding a lot of grief and also a lot of transformative possibilities.  I am humbled to serve with you and to be on this challenging and rewarding journey together.  We move at the speed of trust–which I have noted means sometimes we aren’t moving at all because there is no trust.  And sometimes–as our trust increases–we find we can do so much more together than we used to believe.  This is what I am experiencing with you all now!  

In gratitude,

~Rev. Sarah