On Friday night, Nov. 1 (6:00 - 8:30 p.m.) and Saturday morning Nov. 2 (9:00 - noon) the Strategic Planning Team is hosting a Planning Retreat at St. James Lutheran.
Everyone interested in helping to shape the plan on where we are heading as a congregation is welcome to participate along with staff, Council, and Mission Team leaders.
Through surveys, demographic insights, and interviews with community leaders, the Strategic Planning Team has gathered a lot of essential data about the church and our wider community. The following buttons provide links to this data. All you need to do is click on them and you will be able to access:
If you can take part on Friday and Saturday, I encourage you to read through all this material. It is a lot but it contains critical insights that will spark conversations and will aid in our discernment.
While you do, ask yourself the following: What sparks your interest? Given these insights, how might we build and deepen relationships with God, with each other, and with our neighbor? What do we wish to hold onto as our church faces a changing environment? What new opportunities has God put before us to be the church?
Maybe your reading brings up different questions? Wonder. Imagine. Dream. Write down your insights and bring them to the retreat.
Whether you can attend or not, pray with me for the wisdom of the Spirit that we might together discern where God is inviting us as a congregation.
As always, I look forward to seeing you in worship on Sunday.
In Christ's Light,
Pastor Walt