On January 2nd, all are invited to join together for either an outdoor walk through the woods, or a ZOOM call for a time of interaction and reflection.
We will be watching the weather, as well as regional guidelines around COVID restrictions for gathering, and if our outdoor walk is not possible, we will all shift over to the ZOOM call option.
We’re looking forward to this meaningful time together – either outdoors or online!
If you were not able to join us live (online) for our Christmas Eve service, you are still welcome to visit our YouTube channel to view the event there.
An update from our Steering Committee regarding nominations and searching for new committee members; news about searching for an interim pastor as well as plans for forming a temporary Theological Discernment & Ministry team.
First, we would like to call attention to the upcoming listening circles which were mentioned in the interruption email last week. These are a space to process this season of transition for our church with facilitation from Credence & Co. These circles will be held on December 6th and January 5th- you can find more details and register through the Planning Center App. The Steering Committee will also be hosting its next office hour the evening of December 15th- this is a space to share and ask questions in a small group setting with two steering committee members, looking ahead to what is next for our community. Register here.
Second, we would like to share a specific need in our church. There is a need for further support in the children’s ministry to lighten Melodie’s load, as she has been working above and beyond her role duties in these last weeks. We are grateful to Melodie for continuing to support this need for the interim, but we would ask that if this is an area you would be available to support, that you please reach out to the Steering Committee or staff. If this particular role is not a fit for you but you would be available to support during this season of transition in a different capacity, we encourage you to connect with the SC or staff- we welcome your support!
Third, it is that time of year where we open nominations for new SC members! If you have giftings in areas such as strategic visioning and board experience, or know of someone in our congregation who does, and would like to step into a role of leadership in our community, please send along a nomination to us at sc@elevationwaterloo.org. If you have questions about what the role involves, please feel free to reach out! We will be gathering nominations until December 30th and would love to hear from you!
Finally, as we continue to vision what is next for our community, we would like to share some broad strokes of where we are headed in the coming weeks:
Community processing- Healing Circles (Dec and Jan), SC office hour (Dec 15)
Interim pastor: we are beginning the process of searching for interim support. If you have connections to potential candidates, we encourage you to reach out to the SC, and we welcome your prayers as the search is undertaken!
Sunday gatherings: This Advent season will be led by our Pastoral Team and others in the form of readings, short sermons, prayer, as well as music and spaces for reflection. We will be working with the Pastoral Team in the coming weeks to plan our Sunday gatherings for January.
