Refreshing Plymouth’s Vision:   At the Council’s recent retreat, and again at our August Council meeting, we  began exploring what is important for Plymouth to focus on during the rest of 2009 and 2010.  We began with the Vision adopted by the Congregation at Plymouth’s  Annual meeting in 2003.  It is:

Vision:  Plymouth Church is a Christian Community open to the transforming Spirit of God.
Purpose: Growing people of faith who take part in God’s work in the world.
Paths to reach the Vision and Purpose:
o    Participating in Vital Worship
o    Growing our Christian Faith
o    Deepening our Sense of Community
o    Discerning and Sharing our Gifts for  Ministry
o    Shaping our Governance — to support and further the vision, purpose and pathways
o    Mission

We invite you to join us in this exploration at the Sunday Forum, 10 a.m. on September 20.  We will share some of our preliminary ideas in each area and welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Pastoral Search:  When the Congregation voted to delay selection of the Search Committee last December, there was significant support for not waiting too long to start the search process.  Since then significant interim work has been done, guided by our Interim Pastor, the Reverend Tom Stiers.  And, first steps in the search have been taken through the survey we are all participating in this month and work is underway on the creation of a profile of Plymouth. Now, the Council believes it is time to work toward election of the search committee in early November.  The Council plans to initiate this process at its September meeting. The Nominating Committee which has the responsibility for recommending a slate to the Congregation welcomes any recommendations you have.  Contact Bill Durland, Nominating Committee Chair or send recommendations to info@plymouthchurchseattle.org. More details on dates next month!

Communication Committee:  The Council has appointed Susan Berry, convener, Deb Easter, Diane Kenny, Elizabeth Maher, and Roger McRae as members of this committee.  They are very hard at work already, meeting weekly.  
    
Share Your Thoughts: A Council member will continue to be available to visit with you after services each Sunday this fall.  We enjoy hearing from you.  Please share your thoughts, concerns, questions and suggestions with us.

—Nancy Smith, Church Moderator