'Board of Trustees' Tagged Posts
Rev. Lee on Sabbatical Until April 1st
Dear members, friends, & visitors to WellSprings, The day is here: my four-month sabbatical begins this Sunday, December 1st. As I said in my most recent message, I love you all, and I will miss you during this time away. A sabbatical is a wonderful privilege of serving in ministry, and I do not take this gift lightly. After all the challenges of the past few years, it means so much to me that you are offering me four entire…
Announcing Our New “Future Fund”
At our Installation service in September, our former ministerial intern – the Rev. Beth Monhollen – announced the creation of a new fund at WellSprings. The Future Fund is an investment in WellSprings’ future, created on the occasion of our first ministerial Installation, and intended to honor our congregation’s founding era by planning for the era to come. Gifts given to the Future Fund will not be used for our normal operating budget, but for future-oriented projects that help sustain…
Announcing a New Coalition for People of Faith in Chester County
Many folks in our congregation have felt the call, over the past few years, to take a more active role in our local community – lending strength and support to each other, and to our neighbors. We see how our political climate is only growing more volatile by the day, and we long to be reminded of the strongest power there is: the power of Beloved Community. The power of showing up, to love and care for one another. WellSprings…
Save the Date for WellSprings’ First-Ever Installation
UPDATE: Registration is now open! Click here to RSVP. Save the date for September 29th, 2024, when WellSprings will hold a milestone event in the life of our congregation: our first-ever ministerial Installation! Earlier this year, our congregation held a vote to officially “call” and affirm the Rev. Lee Paczulla as our settled minister – the first time we’ve gathered in this way to choose our own minister, in the 17-year history of our community. WellSprings has been host to…
WellSprings at Pride!
We showed up for Chester County PrideFest in force this year, WellSprings! This was the second year in a row that WellSprings served as a sponsor for the annual event, held along Bridge Street in Phoenixville, during the month of June. We were packed with volunteers at our booth, and dozens more from our community dropped by to say hello – whether they were there tabling for another organization, or just out at PrideFest enjoying the gorgeous weather. This year,…
Farewell Jessica, Congregational Meeting Recap, & A Report from Stewardship…
This past Sunday we celebrated Jessica Heichel’s last day on Staff as our Membership & Communications Coordinator – and, our Board of Trustees led our annual Congregational Meeting, after the service! You can watch all of Sunday’s events at the link above – including a special New Member Welcome for Jessica and her husband Dan! The Heichels decided to become members of our congregation, following Jessica’s time on Staff. We also gave Jessica a parting gift to thank her for…
A Final Report, From Stewardship
Greetings WellSprings! The Stewardship Ministry is wrapping up our annual pledge campaign, and we would like to thank everyone who generously made a pledge commitment to WellSprings for the fiscal year July 2024 to June 2025. Our pledge campaign, Building Our Beloved Community, supported the following stewardship goals: 1. to increase member pledge participation from 70% to 90% 2. to increase the overall pledged amount by 16% to meet the planned budget of $250,000. To measure member pledge participation, we used a base…
Announcing Rev. Lee Paczulla as our First Called Minister at WellSprings!
This afternoon, the Board of Trustees is thrilled to announce the results of the special election for Calling Reverend Lee Paczulla as our Settled Minister. In January, we made a momentous decision to call a vote and then conducted several listening circles, both in person and on Zoom, to ensure all voices were heard. Voting commenced two weeks ago on April 7 and closed Friday, April 19, at 11:59 pm. Yesterday, the Board formally certified the results of the vote.…
Don’t Miss Our Big Belonging Sunday, this Weekend!
You won’t want to miss this Sunday, as WellSprings observes three big events in the life-cycle of our congregation: the welcoming of new members, the final day of our 2024 Pledge Drive, and the announcement of results in our congregation’s vote, to call Rev. Lee Paczulla as our first-ever settled minister. It all happens during a special, annual service we call “Belonging Sunday” – a celebration of our WellSprings community, where we also recognize and formally welcome all the new…
Calling a Minister, FAQ
A Message and Guide from the board of trustees Since we announced at the January congregational meeting our intention to hold a congregational vote, to call Reverend Lee as our Settled Minister, we have held listening circles open to all congregants to enable further discussion and education on this important milestone for our community. Please see below for a list of questions most frequently asked, during those listening sessions. Our vote will open on Sunday, April 7th, so watch your…
A Welcome to Some New Leaders
Welcome New Leaders! We are grateful to have some new leaders joining our Senior Leader Community at WellSprings in 2024! In January the Board announced that Chris Rieder has been appointed as a Board Trustee to fill the seat recently vacated. Chris is also a member of the Tech Team. Sarah Costa also recently joined our Stewardship Ministry. Sarah has volunteered in YouthSpirit, and you may recall that she led an “Off the Fence” Soul Bite, this past fall. Jenn Nettingham and Samantha Weber have also been actively participating in our YouthBridge Ministry – as…
A Recap Of Our Congregational Meeting on 1/28
A Note from the board… Our hearts are full from our Special Congregational meeting on Sunday, January 28th, in which we discussed the process of calling a minister. Calling a minister is a matter of deep significance to a congregation, and we hope to approach it with the requisite reverence and love as we ask ourselves to more deeply commit in our relationship with Reverend Lee. It is fitting we started this process on the same day we mark our 17th birthday! …