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We are 50% of the way through our fiscal year so I wanted to provide a half-year annual report.
Our financial news is good, we have raised 59% of our income and have spent 49% of the expenses. We are right on track. Take a look at the June 30, 2024 financial report here.
We can celebrate that our new ‘single’ Board is already noticing the impact of being able to coordinate our building needs, staffing needs and our finances, as we stay centered on creating our vision. We are energized to be developing a long-term strategic plan. Everything is grounded in our Vision, Values and Imperatives that we developed together over the last few years. Let me share some of the things we have to celebrate!
Imperative, Deepen our Life Together:
A story ~ A few months ago, when people were asked to share in Worship, one long-time younger member told us that participating in the “Younger” small group, is the first time that they felt that they fully belonged here.
Here is a partial list of the Deeping our Life Together activities:
Small Groups: Where there is a Will, there’s a Way, Younger Members, Spiritual Disciples, Creative Crafters. The Reparations Study Group and Decolonizing Faith, with Mark Charles.
We can be very proud of the 12 people who participated in the Come to the Waters Course, and the six teens who completed the substantial Confirmation Course.
I think we have also deepened our lives with each other as we have participated in the Community Hub events like the Block Party, and the Pride March.
Imperative, Grow as a Community Hub:
A story ~ Last week I said hello to a father who was waiting for his son who was in a piano lesson. He said that he wanted us to know that he appreciates how much we support the community and the many ways we use our building for the community. He was quick to say that his family wasn’t church going. I told him that getting his family in the pew isn’t our primary objective, but that we wanted to be a place that helped build community so that all of us could thrive. (What we call mutual flourishing).
Here is a list of some of the Community Hub activities since last Sept:
Monarch Walk, Community Music Circles, Alameda Block Party, Community Christmas Festival, Community Emergency Preparedness Gathering, Alameda Ladies Choir, Last Day of School Celebration.
I am proud of the ways that we have been making shifts in what we think of as “normal Church things” to be doing. We are listening to how God is calling us out into the neighborhood to be disciples. You will hear more in the fall about what we have learned from our Sacred Organizing process, but what we heard from our neighbors meets what we have been experiencing ourselves. People are yearning for places to belong, to be authentic and vulnerable.
As a church seeking to be relevant, all the things we have been doing to Deepen our Life Together, and to grow as a Community Hub, means that we are creating and supporting ways for our neighbors as well as for ourselves to experience community. Our values help us make it be as authentic and meaningful as possible. I think we have made great progress, and we have a lot to celebrate.
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