The View From Here

by Lauren Wood, Vice Moderator

January 25, 2024

When Adam asked me to write an article for the Here and Now inviting the congregation to the annual meeting, I accepted the opportunity…or was it more like a challenge? Usually, when I compose an invitation to social gatherings, I try to make the invitation eye-catching with clip art and bright colors to pique the reader's interest from the very start. The first few lines should surprise and delight the recipient and entice him/her to continue reading to gather all the information about this interesting event. The invitation might be so successful that the recipient(s) may actually move an already existing item on their calendar just to attend the event.

Though it is often thought that the ministers "run the show," it is actually YOU, yes, you reading this article]. YOU make the important decisions that keep the

church the church. Without your participation, we couldn't approve ministers' terms of call or elect new elders and deacons.

Without your participation, we would not have the money to operate in 2024 because we would not have a budget, and we wouldn't have a new resolution on the war in Gaza. The church needs you for all these important reasons--and we promise—the annual meeting will not evoke yawns—there will be coffee (for the eye-opening caffeine) and cookies (for energy)! So please move whatever else was on your calendar and join us at the annual meeting.