Greetings Westside! And Happy Seattle Summer! If you’re spending your summer at home, or in the area at least, you already know that Seattle finally hit its summer stride in the past two weeks. The other day Tony said, “How is it already my birthday (July 20th) this week ?!” It has felt like time has flown, but if you haven’t gotten to the beach yet, don’t fret, there are still a couple of juicy summer months left on the Pacific Northwest calendar.
In my last and first newsletter to you, I accidentally referred to our Ministerial Search Team as the MST 18, but we’re the MST 19! A testament to our commitment to one another, and to our congregational community –- it will be literally a different year from when we started when we successfully (wink) call a new minister to Westside next spring. Something I am deeply enjoying about my work with Roseanne, Jill, Eileen, Vanessa, Liz, and Alan, is how they are each a unique balance of sensitivity and directness. Thus far in our work, we have strived not to shy away from disagreement or debate, and I feel confident that by the time January rolls around, we will have been flexing our difficult discussion engaging and decision-making muscles with one another for a healthy seven months!
Since we last spoke, members of MST 19 have opened a bank account, begun contacting and weighing neutral pulpit site options, discussed ways we would like to conduct our congregational survey, thought deeply about and discussed enthusiastically the past, present, and future of Westside, submitted our Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop application to the UUA (make sure you mark your calendars for a Saturday in the middle of October!), and generally been great and insightful sports through video chat meeting snafus and scheduling minutiae. We have also finalized our covenant (which I love if I do say so myself) and have decided on how we’re going to make decisions and address conflict as a group. I daresay I am coming to call the six other members of the MST 19 my friends, and I don’t think it would be going out on a limb to guess they might say the same about me.
Keep enjoying your summer! As a kid I always thought Unitarian Universalists didn’t meet during the summer, because I always returned to service for the In-Gathering in the fall, but as an adult I can testify that Westside UU most certainly has a worshipful summer life!
Until next time,
Neve