WHAT WE NEED

Last weekend, I attended the first annual general meeting of Western Ontario Waterways Regional Council of the United Church of Canada.  First United Church is a part of that new organization.  The meeting took place at the UNIFOR Centre in Port Elgin.  I wish all of you could have been there.

I was expecting a fair amount of tedious business to dominate the agenda.  I was partly wrong.  The dominating component of the agenda was two presentations by keynote speaker Rev. Cameron Trimble.  Cameron is a minister in the United Church of Christ in Atlanta, Georgia - and she's the CEO of the Centre for Progressive Renewal (CPR).  That organization helps congregations and churches discover ways to be faithful and relevant in today's times.  She's an expert on church renewal.

I took several pages of notes during her presentations, but I confess that at times I forgot all about recording her remarks - I was fascinated by Cameron's vision of what a renewed community of faith might be.  I was conscious that here at First United, we will soon receive the facilitator's report on our own visioning process.  When we get that report and have had time to absorb its recommendations, it will be time for us to make decisions and plans.

I was listening to Cameron with that in mind.  I thought I would share some of her remarks with you:

*  leadership is an essential ingredient in defining who we are.  Not all of us are leaders, but all of us can be supportive of those who are.

*  we need to choose which voice we are going to listen to.  Will it be the fearful one or the hopeful one?

*  let's differentiate between problems and conditions.  Problems can be fixed; conditions need to be treated.

*  we should strive for the rebuilding and fostering of connections and relationships within our congregation and outwards into our larger community.  Everything else will follow from that.

*  some failure is inevitable as we find our way...it's part of the process.  So, get ready to fail better.

*  we need to work together to build mutual trust to support our vision.  Trust is an antidote to fear and apathy.

I came away from the weekend excited for what the future holds for us, for the things we will do together as a community of faith.  

Blessings and peace to all.

Pat

Take This Thought Away With You

"You have a contribution to make to the world

that only YOU can make.

The rest of us are waiting, with hope,

to see what that will be."

~ Rev. Cameron Trimble ~