Church Council
From the Council President
By the time you read this, the Church Council will have met for its annual retreat. The retreat had two main areas of focus. First was providing all members of Council with a briefing on Rock Spring processes and procedures to lay the groundwork for a successful year. Second was beginning a discussion about the mission and vision of Rock Spring.
A sampling of the questions before our church includes: How do we define “benevolences” and how do we allocate those resources? How much should we rely on the Endowment to fund the operations of the church? How do we grow our membership, and inspire all members to give of their time and their treasure? None of these questions has an easy answer, and none stands alone. They are intertwined, and with limited time and financial resources, the answer to any one necessarily helps to define the answer to every other.
Over the coming year, we will continue to wrestle with these issues. Based on our conversation at the Council Retreat, we will be seeking input from all members of the congregation. I hope we will be able to clearly articulate a mission and vision for Rock Spring, and then make decisions that will allow us to achieve that vision.
Before we could get to the Council Retreat, however, there was the minor matter of a couple of blizzards. When I agreed to take on the job of Council President, I expected that there might be some “storms” to deal with over the course of the year. I did not, however, expect it to be quite so literal!
I can’t thank enough the Rock Springers who worked tirelessly to ensure that church could open on Feb. 14 . “My kingdom for a parking lot!” was a common refrain as it became painfully obvious that the streets around Rock Spring would not be cleared for parking. Instead, through a combination of fortuitous encounters, creative thinking and good old-fashioned hard work, a small group was able to develop and implement a remote parking and shuttle system that allowed us to worship together and enjoy Women’s Sunday. My thanks to everyone who contributed ideas, who worked to clear the bus from under its thick blanket of snow (and a fallen tree!), and who provided the “boots on the ground” to keep the system working smoothly. My thanks, too, to the congregation for their patience and good humor!
Thinking spring thoughts,
Ashley Martinage
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