Budget
Board Approved last night
Request at the Town Hall Council, May 28
Approved at Congregational Meeting, May 31

Montesorri School
Making Plans to re-open June 1
Board authorized CU&A to prepare agreement
Based on CDC guidelines for child care centers
As always the school is responsible for child safety and must carry liability insurance.

Last regular meeting of current Board
New Trustees elected on May 31
Make plans for the new Board Retreat and Orientation June 6

Termite Tenting
The church is being fumigated for termites starting today
Taking advantage of the church being closed
The process takes three days
We will have a security guard at the church throughout the process
Please stay away.

Covenant between Rev. Lissa and myself
We agreed to a covenant yesterday
I have asked, and Lissa has agreed
That she give the congregation and I space in June
To end the current year
To end the interim ministry
To say our goodbyes and make a good ending
And to make a pause before your attention turns to the new year
And the settled minister

A good ending should be the focus from now until the end of June
There will be time in July to make plans for August
And time in August, once Lissa begins,
To make plans for the church year that begins in September

For June, Lissa and I agreed to follow the principle
Informed by not Involved
Feel free to share any minutes or documents
Add Lissa to your email distribution list
But Lissa should not attend meetings
And please don’t invite her to join discussions
However, if there is some specific issue or question
Where you feel it’s important to involve Lissa before June 30
Please speak to me and I can either get the answer you need
Or guide the interaction.

At last night’s Board meeting
Several folks were talking about a webinar they had attended earlier that day
Sponsored by Church Mutual
Our insurance company
I didn’t attend the webinar

Michael Sallwasser described the webinar as mostly addressed
To churches that want to quickly get back to church life as normal
And the insurance companies urging caution
And explaining precautions
Like social distancing
And masks,
No choir
No mingling during coffee hour afterward
No hugging
And Michael pointed out that what we have now
Actually is a lot more fulfilling than that.

I like that our church has figured out a way to do church
As best as possible during the current circumstances
And we’re getting better all the time.

But I also know that the church we have now
Is in many ways not as satisfying as what we could do earlier
And it’s important to acknowledge that
That’s part of being a “Reality-based faith”
Zoom meetings are not the same as in-person meetings
In some ways they are better
Like screen-sharing documents
But in other ways not
Like missing non-verbal clues
Zoom worship fulfills many of the needs of worship
And does some things better
Like making worship accessible to people who can’t join in person
But in other ways falls short
Like missing a live choir
Or preaching to a screen and not getting reactions

So what this means to me
Is that I’m continuing to feel my emotions go all over the place
I’m excited by creative solutions
And new ideas
But I’m also grieving some things that were lost
I’m making it work one day
And then I’m a little depressed the next day

So my spiritual counsel for today is
Feel what you feel
Don’t feel that you have to make a brave face if you’re feeling sad today
But if you feel yourself connecting too entirely to the negatives
Seek out the positives because they are there
Acknowledge the ambiguities of the situation
Notice your feelings
And notice how they change, from day to day
Accept that this is where we are
For now, but not always
Stay connected to reality
And know that reality changes

See you tomorrow at 1pm