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A Time to Heal
In the aftermath of Remi’s sudden departure as our pastor, Faye Orton Snyder—with the support of the Board—asked Nancy Martin and I to form Listening Circles to help foster healing and growth within our congregation. We felt it was important to invite a wider group into shaping this process. In my sermon on January 8th, I asked for volunteers, and we received a wonderful, heartfelt response from a diverse cross-section of our community.


Our first meeting took place via Zoom on Valentine’s Day morning. The depth of care, concern, and honesty shared about who we are and where we find ourselves as a congregation was deeply encouraging. I left that meeting feeling hopeful.


Members of the group include:
Nancy Martin and Jeffrey Ishmael, Co-chairs; Robyn Van de Cater; Gerd and Kim Pannke; Steve Reilly; Diane McNally; Kelley Lawton; Anne James; Carol Somerton; Norman Bardsley; and Dana Fraticelli.


What We Decided

  • We have named ourselves the Reflection and Reimagining Circles Group.

 

  • We are a task group, formed for a time-limited process intended to prepare the church for its next steps.

 

  • Our work includes forming Listening Circles to hear from the congregation about: 

  •     who we are now,

  •     who we believed we were when we called Remi, and

  •     what we need now and going forward.

 

  • We are not a Search Committee. Our process comes before the search for new pastoral leadership.

 

  • Our work is confidential but not secret. We are transparent about our purpose and our process, while holding in confidence the personal sharing that takes place—modeling the same confidentiality expected within the Listening Circles.​

 

Addressing Questions About Remi’s Departure
We recognize that many people still have questions about what happened, why events unfolded so quickly, and what we can learn from this difficult situation.


 

To support clarity and understanding, our first major task will be to hold an in-person meeting for anyone who wishes to hear the story.


Date and time will be shared soon.


Moving Forward
We are not here to do the congregation’s work for it—we are here to help design a process through which the congregation can do its own work of self reflection and reimagining.


The group will meet biweekly throughout this process.


We will share updates and next steps regularly through Sunday announcements and in Grace Notes.


If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to Nancy or me.


In Peace,


Jeffrey Ishmael and Nancy Martin

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