Dear Edwards Church Community,

           Thank you for a wonderful annual meeting on Sunday, Jan 26.   As always, the variety of soups, salads, desserts, and other foods were delicious and nutritious, and a wonderful lunch was had by all. Every year as I read the collection of annual reports I am struck by the breadth of what we do and the care with which you do it. Thank you, thank you.

Anyone who did not obtain a copy of the annual report booklet can still obtain one by contacting the office. The most efficient way to send you one will be emailing an electronic copy, as paper copies are now in very short supply.

At the annual meeting the gathered congregation (including 37 official members, so a sound representation) unanimously approved the REACH Team proposal, which is described in this SPIRE. REACH is short for Revitalizing Engagement, Active Commitment, and Hope. Our goal in pursuing the changes you have now authorized is all in that name. As one member commented shortly after the vote, this is an exciting development and one with a lot of positive potential. Now the challenges of implementation and continuous improvement begin in earnest!

In keeping with the festive feeling, before the meeting we received new members in worship: Tom Bernardin and Shannon Farrand-Bernardin, who recently moved back to the area with their children Lucia, Allegra and Winter, rejoined the church after living in Minnesota for four years; Ella Stocker joined after coming for a couple of years, singing in the choir and being on the REACH team this year; and Maureen Sturman, who has been coming for over three years and getting more involved also joined.  Brief bios for each of them are on a following follow page of this SPIRE.

Blessings,

Michael

Read the whole newsletter here.