Voting Rights Session #2: Reclaim Our Vote
In this session, Nancy Hwa will discuss the work of the Center for Common Ground, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that educates and empowers underrepresented communities on their right to vote…
Session Notes: September 2022
Your Session sat, by Zoom, for its regular monthly meeting this week.
We heard a report from Lauren Amos and Sherry Trafford, our congregation’s two designated members on the Miriam’s Kitchen board. The pandemic was a transformative time for Miriam’s…
A Word from Laura: Come and See
Dear Western Friends,
On behalf of all the church leaders preparing for Sunday mornings this fall, in the words of Christ, I invite you, “Come and see:”
• What makes Western a courageous community, whether you seek courage yourself or seek to join others in courageous action;
• How we grow spiritually and serve God in Foggy Bottom when we gather, in-person, to worship, learn and serve, called together as the Body of Christ;
• How God’s Spirit grows unity in our diversity and hope through our communal responses to racism, Christian nationalism and social injustice.
On behalf of the session, deacons, and worship ministry team, we invite you and all our neighbors to join us September 11 and Sundays this fall, as we return to worship at 11 am. Adult education and choir will begin at 9:45, with children’s Sunday School as children depart after the Time with Children in worship. On the 11th your leaders want to invite you personally to come and sing, to come and serve, to come and join the Spirit at work!
A Word from Laura: Sabbath
Contemporary theologians remind us that Sabbath is an act of resistance, saying “no” to a culture of endless work…
A Word from Laura: Faith and Uncertainty
The topic of the conversation was antiracism, but the talk turned to uncertainty, to the fears that come up when trying to make decisions in an uncertain time, when you don’t know what the future holds. This was a conversation when your leaders were sharing deeply and honestly; their words and feelings belong to them and therefore they get to share them as they feel led. But they named a larger, shared sentiment that seems to belong to everyone these days.
When faced with an uncertain future, leaders can be tempted to reassure people that everything is fine, to encourage others just to stay calm. And it’s true that in the end, when God’s creation is complete and the fullness of salvation is realized, everything will be as it is supposed to be. But in the meantime, anxiety is real for anyone paying attention to our realities, whether to the fall election cycle or to areas struggling in the face of fires and drought or to economic struggles or the spread of virus once school starts.
The challenge for all kinds of leaders – and it coincides with the gift of Christian faith – is to live in the uncertainty without giving in to anxiety.
A Word from Laura: August 14 – Invitation from the Personnel Ministry Team
Western Friends,
As we get ready for this fall, several invitations are coming your way, primarily an invitation to join us once again, in-person, as we prepare for a return to 11 am worship on September 11. Following in Jesus’ footsteps, extending the same invitation he shared with his first disciples, we invite you to “come and see” – and to serve and grow and welcome each other!
This week the Personnel Ministry Team invites you to come and find out more about what is happening around our staffing process.