Living Our Mission Summit Recap

LOMS

Last weekend at the Living Our Mission Summit, more than 60 members of this congregation began the process of imagining a bold future for our church, grounded in our mission.

Based on MLUC’s culture and history, the Summit participants developed 7 initiatives, to respond to this framing statement: “MLUC’s living out our mission commits us to ….” Those initiatives and the Action Group leaders are:

on 29 September 2016.

Staffing Task Force Update

As we begin the new church year and think about our future, the Trustees and the Executive Team are evaluating staffing Color Chalice Letterhead plans and organizational models that meet our community’s needs as

Together, We Transform Lives through Love, Service, and Our Welcoming Faith

Background

During the 2015-2016 Church year, Main Line Unitarian Church experienced vacancies in three senior staff positions: the head of Child and Youth Religious Education, the Director of Administration, and the Associate Minister. In response, MLUC’s Board of Trustees raised a Staffing Task Force to evaluate the Church’s needs, consider various staffing options, and prepare a recommendation for how to respond to these vacancies.

on 06 October 2016.

Letters from Haiti: An Unexpected Accident

Trip co-leader, Mike Carpenter warned us at Tuesday night's evening reflection that if something is going to go wrong during our time in Haiti, it'll happen on Wednesday. He was both right and wrong.

The day started with a visit to MPP's schoolhouse, which was expanded in the past year with a generous gift from the Unitarian Society of Germantown. We helped with the grounds and met the children, who were full of wonder. Then we headed to our vehicles.

And that's when Wednesday struck.

On the road back, we came upon an accident. A motorbike with a passenger clipped a boy crossing the road. The boy was lying limped where he fell, and the bike fell over too. One of the young men limped off the road.

Our caravan stopped and two members of the group jumped out to aid the boy. Monica Perme and Nuala Carpenter are both health care professionals and cared for the boy, while the boy's father and others incited a loud, angry argument over who was to blame for the accident.

Amidst the furor, the boy regained consciousness.

Eventually, Monica, Nuala, the two injured Haitians, and the boy's mom went to the hospital in one vehicle, and the rest of us headed home in the other two.

So often we ask ourselves why we're in a place like Haiti. It's not an easy question. Today we knew. We weren't there intending to help in this situation; we were just there. We have no way of knowing if what we did prevented something worse, though it kind of felt like it did. What we do know is that at a terrible time in a young boy's life, when he was surrounded by confusion, and anger, and noise, he received compassion and skilled care and he was delivered safely to more care.

The reflection this evening centered on that event, and several other out-of-leftfield experiences that seem to happen more here than at home. And on the joy that comes with doing this work of living together.

It included Monica remembering something that one of the youth, Julia MacDonald, said while gathering rocks to clear a space for a playground at the school what seemed like a lifetime earlier. She said, "I wish I had bigger hands to help."

May all of us have the hands and hearts to help, wherever and whenever we're needed in this world that so often confounds our plans.

-Kevin Donahue
Youth Coordinator for the trip

on 15 January 2016.

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