In April next year, our congregation will host the District Assembly of the Pacific Southwest District.  Unitarian Universalists from congregations throughout our district (Southern California, Arizona, and Las Vegas, about 50 congregations in all) will gather at our church for a weekend of fellowship, worship, education, policy-making and visioning for the future of our faith, and, hopefully, fun.  The dates are Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28.

We have a lot to prepare to welcome 200 or so guests to share our space and our hospitality.  It’s a big undertaking.  We’re fortunate that the District has put together an excellent team of planners, led by the current President of the District, Michael Hart, who does conference planning in his professional life.  You might remember Mr. Hart as he preached for us earlier in August.  The District is taking the lead on the programming and planning, and will also be assisted by staff resources at the regional level.

Planning has already begun.  I’ve been working with the planning team along with Jeffrey Kessler and Francisco Ruiz from our congregation.  More help will be needed as we move further into the process.  I hope you’ll consider how you might be part of our shared effort.

The theme for our gathering was the first order of business for our planning team.  Here is the theme title and description we’ve decided upon:

“From the Ground Up:  The Power of our PSWD Communities”

“The congregation is the foundation of our Unitarian Universalist faith.  Everything we do as an expression of our faith is grounded in the local communities from which we all take comfort and strength.  Some of our greatest joys sprout from the spiritual communities and the congregations of the Pacific Southwest District – both big and small.”

The theme recognizes that healthy congregations are essential to support every ministry of our faith.  That every expression of our faith grows from healthy soil. That our ministries must be planted in nurturing ground in order to bear the fruits of our faith.

So what makes a healthy congregation?  What are the programs and elements of infrastructure that create the nurturing foundation our faith expressions depend on?  The weekend of District Assembly will be filled with that discussion and sharing of our collective answers and wisdom to the benefit of us all.

I encourage you to take some time as well to think how you would answer those questions.  And I’d love to hear your answers.