We welcome special guest Rev. Lisa Talbott, assistant to the bishop, as our preacher this week as we begin our series on The Wesleyan Way of Faith & Belonging

This week we have been conducting interviews for a new church office operations coordinator.  We are hoping to have hired someone by the end of the week. It has been such a wonderful process of working with a team to create a job description, select candidates, craft interview questions, and meet our candidates. Early on we had to have some conversations about our finances and if we can really afford a $30,000 a year position at this time in the life of our church. I am so grateful for everyone who asked hard questions, helped us think about what we really need and what God is calling us to as a church.  We will have more hard conversations ahead of us as we work on developing our budget for 2027.  Our church leadership takes it very seriously that the people of the congregation entrust financial resources and gifts of time and energy to this community.  Stewarding well all that we have is a fundamental value that we are living into with clear budgets, collective conversation, and collaborative decision making processes. The fact that we can have hard conversations, navigate differences, transparently talk about when we hurt each other or have misunderstandings are all marks of a spiritually mature church.  I am so grateful to be walking all of this with you and am looking forward to continued improvement of our processes and practices as we add a fabulous new staff person.  I appreciate the leaders who have stepped up to serve in so many different ways to care for and steward this church.

Blessings,

Pastor Eilidh

All are welcome to join!

If you are interested in helping us to imagine how our exterior property could look in ten years, please plan to attend the soft launch of our LEAP – Landscape & Exterior Action Planners. We will convene on Sunday, October 18, after coffee hour in the Conrad Room. A light lunch will be provided, so please RSVP at https://forms.gle/H9ZzfesUfCr2yJEs5.  We will talk about community stakeholders to include, make a planning strategy and walk around our grounds. This is open to anyone in the church or community who might be interested. For questions contact Sarah at CultivatorLB@gmail.com.

All classes begin the week of Sept 13 unless otherwise indicated. Sunday School and Bible Study are on going year round.

Join us on October 10 at 11AM at Vancouver Heights UMC for our “Caring for God’s Creation” workshop. We will explore ecotheology, current environmental advocacy issues, and ways that we can live into God’s call to work and keep the land (Gen 2:15). The workshop will run from 11AM until 2PM and includes lunch, so please pre-register at https://forms.gle/u4RKL59sbVa2BTJx6. Childcare is available upon request. For questions, contact Sarah at CultivatorLB@gmail.com.