Our community is growing and thriving, and we are making intentional choices about how we connect with one another, how our spaces support us, and how we engage beyond our walls. In this update, we want to highlight some of the steps we’re taking together so that our shared life more fully reflects our core values, now and in the years ahead.
Growing Together in Right Relations
Our congregation is deepening its shared commitment to right relations—strengthening how we communicate, resolve conflict, and care for one another in community. The Right Relations Covenant Team is now working with the congregation to develop our church covenant—a statement of how we aspire to live together as a beloved community. There are two remaining open sessions (Feb. 15 in person and Feb. 22 on Zoom) where everyone is welcome to share ideas and help shape this important covenant.
As this work continues, the Board is forming a standing Right Relations Team, which will help our congregation keep the covenant’s aspirations at the center of our life together and carry this work forward over time. This team will provide education to build our communication and conflict‑resolution skills and offer guidance, resources, and facilitation when tensions arise. We’re also developing new policies and processes to support this right relations work, helping everyone know where to turn, what to expect, and how to navigate concerns with clarity and care.
Spaces That Reflect Our Values
Our renovation work is guided by our values of inclusion, safety, accessibility, and hospitality, with the goal of making our building more welcoming and functional for everyone. The projects are taking longer than we originally expected, as we’ve been adapting plans to work with our existing footprint and new building-code requirements.
What began as a straightforward update of the main restroom has grown into a broader strategy for all of our restrooms. We are now planning for the main restroom and the former men’s room together and are in the early stages of exploring the possibility of converting the men’s restroom into two single‑occupancy, all gender restrooms. This change would allow our restrooms to better reflect our commitments to accessibility, safety, and inclusion for people of all genders and abilities. We will share more detailed plans as they develop and welcome your questions and feedback as we continue the work.
In the McGinness Room, new lighting is scheduled to be installed in late February or early March, along with other updates to add warmth, depth, and character. These enhancements will help the space reflect its original intention as a small chapel, transforming it from a purely functional room into one better suited to hold spiritual gatherings, events, meetings, classes, and more.
Strengthening Safety and Care
We are taking concrete steps to strengthen safety in our community, both in our practices and in our physical space. Building on the strong foundation established by the Security Task Force, which created our emergency plan, the Safety Team is now taking that work forward by creating training and safety procedures for Sunday teams, lay leaders, the Board, and staff to help us to anticipate and respond to medical emergencies, de‑escalation needs, and other situations that may arise in our shared life together. We are also improving signage and communication so that everyone in our congregation, and all who visit, knows what to do and where to go in an emergency.
Deepening Our Commitment Beyond Our Walls
As we strengthen the foundations of our community through right relations, attention to safety, and spaces that embody welcome and inclusion, we are also committed to expanding how we show up beyond our walls. Outreach and partnership were the focus of the Board’s retreat, and what’s emerging from that work will help us step more fully into our role in the wider community. We look forward to sharing next steps in the coming weeks and months.
We are grateful for the tremendous work of our Housing Justice Team (now Human Needs Ministry), which is expanding to encompass a wider geographic area and address essential human needs, such as food, clothing, and housing. Building on this momentum, the newly forming Justice Team will help broaden our social justice work, deepen our outreach and advocacy, and support us in taking bolder, more concrete steps together to stand up for truth, dignity, and safety for all.
We are deeply thankful for your partnership in this shared ministry.