<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hi Dear Committee of Chairs and other church leaders,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">First of all, thank you for all the exhaustive work you’ve been doing this Fall to keep our community going! Our schedules are full and so are our hearts.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I’m writing to invite you to reserve the weekend of January 11-13th on your calendar, as the Board is to host a stewardship consultant over that weekend for the purposes of figuring out where we stand in terms of our strengths and weaknesses as a community as we prepare to launch a Capital Campaign and a big building project. This weekend is called a Next Steps Weekend, and if you were a Committee Chair or leader in the Fall of 2014 you may have had a chance at that time to participate in a similarly formatted weekend with a Stewardship consultant. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The gist is that I will be setting up in advance appointments for the Stewardship consultant throughout the weekend; he will be meeting with the Board, the ET, Committee Chairs and other church leaders, and staff; and in each meeting he’ll be asking questions and asking for documents to help build a full picture of where all of our systems for support are. He’ll then generate a report for the Board so we’ll know what growth areas we may need to address before we’re ready for a Capital Campaign and building project.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Please reserve the weekend of January 11-13th in your calendar if you are a Committee Chair or other church leader, just make sure you are not out of town and your schedule is flexible; and I will be in touch soon to schedule a specific time slot.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Thank you so much! And in case you missed our congregational forum last Sunday, attached is the handout and a little more info about what we’re discussing at the Board level.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Cheers and warm hugs,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Charlotte</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">PS. Right now t<span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;" class="">he Board is grappling with the first two bullet points in our 2018/19 Goals and Initiatives:</span></div><div class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Develop a long-term facilities plan<br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Adopt a plan for growth and improvement of our physical space<br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Moving the congregation towards Net Zero (reduction/elimination of fossil fuels)<br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Develop a long-term financial plan for both operating expenses and long-term needs<br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Develop a long-term staffing plan<br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Initiate a capital campaign (depending on the work of the GFTF) </div><div class=""><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;" class="">And how the congregation can get involved! We need all hands on deck as we move forward towards some congregation-wide initiatives in the coming years! The Board has been working hard to envision how we will move together through this, dynamically steering with the changing needs of the congregation, fluctuating costs of running this community, and the shifting demands of our greater world, while maintaining our focus on fellowship and spirited community. </span></div><div class=""><span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class=""></div></div></div></body></html>