Dear WellSpringers, This message comes to you from me (Rev. Lee) but also from Mary Alsayegh, who currently serves on our Leadership Development Ministry – and it’s intended for our whole congregation, but especially for those of you who’ve missed being with our community these past two years, and who might be feeling something stirring inside you… a yearning that wants to see us all emerge from this time with clear eyes, new strength, and a fresh perspective. For obvious reasons, the coming year is going to be a re-building and re-connecting one for WellSprings. While some of our Teams & Ministries managed to pivot and find new ways to live out their missions during the pandemic, many groups at WellSprings, completely understandably, fell dormant during this time. We know there are folks who miss what these groups offered, but after this great interruption, many of our Teams are critically understaffed for the task of getting their efforts back off the ground. The Leadership Development (LD) Ministry is tasked with supporting our leadership community at WellSprings, and right now we are in a whole new world, imagining what that support might look like. Pre-pandemic, most of LD’s work involved coaching Teams through leadership transitions, orienting new leaders, and hosting quarterly retreats for leaders to learn and grow, connect with each other, and contribute to the big decisions like budgeting, annual goals, etc. that affect our entire community. In the coming year, we’ll continue with this – but we also need members of our community who can take a careful look at where we are now. We’re in need of folks who are willing to connect with fellow congregants who were involved pre-pandemic, willing to roll up sleeves together, and to find out how best to support and rebuild the areas of congregational life that were damaged by the challenges and distance of the pandemic. We are looking for new LD members, who may find opportunities to coach Teams or Ministries hands-on, to work on merging or creating new Teams, or to join in with Team members for a time to help re-activate their programs. LD members will have each other, as well as our paid staff and ministers, to provide support and resources in this work. Serving on LD in the coming year is likely to take some real time and energy, beyond the typical monthly meeting. It’s also likely to be a real opportunity tohelp shape our congregation’s response to these pandemic times, and develop our shared ministry for the years to come. It’s likely to require some real effort and work, but hopefully not in the way your job might. There are no timetables, shareholders, or deliverables here. Just work that – we hope – feels worth doing in these times, to build community amongst and beyond us. We are starting with a call for LD members, because we hope that the support LD offers to our other Teams & Ministries will spread and seed new energy within those groups – but if you want to be involved in other ways (to serve on a Team, to lead a Team, to join our Board or one of our other Ministries) at this time, please: we need you too. Respond to this note, and we will help you find your place. As our current LD Ministry member, Mary Alsayegh is going to receive your responses to this message, and will follow up with anyone who replies. You can read more about the LD Ministry’s work and values here, and you can contact Mary at (484) 571-8482 or mary@altamgmt.com. I really hope you’ll consider joining the Leadership Development Ministry at this time. I know for many of you, it may feel like the wrong time to take on a new commitment – and if you need to rest now, please, hear me: rest. But it’s our hope that just a few of you might be moved to contribute in new ways, during this unique time in our congregation’s history – and to experience how stepping into leadership can grow your soul, your skills, and your sense of community within our already remarkable group of leaders at WellSprings.I hope you’ll reach out to Mary – and in the meantime, that I’ll see you again soon, on a Sunday morning! Take care, |
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| Rev. Lee |