Remember: Bring water to the September 7 service!

     Although we are now a "year round" congregation, with Sunday services right through the summer, we still have our traditional service of Ingathering and Rededication on the Sunday after Labor Day. This includes our water ceremony where we bring water from our "travels" of summer, whether water from far off places or from the taps in our own homes.

     This year we will also enjoy, and express our appreciation for, the beauty of our newly painted and oiled sanctuary.

     We will, however, be missing (temporarily) our Pilgrim window which is out for repair. 

     The changes in our sanctuary are "cosmetic"; they are not structural but change only the surface looks of the room. And yet, that surface change is so important as it changes how the space feels and therefore changes our experience of it.

     That surface, cosmetic evaluation is so important for buildings and rooms. But it can be very damaging and misleading if we apply it to people. Too often we judge people on the basis of inessential criteria, by the clothes they wear, the state of their clothing or the style of their haircuts.

     In viewing ourselves and others, may we always seek to see the inner person, not the outer presentation.

The Parish Board would like to invite you to join us next Thursday evening, 9/4, at 7:00 p.m., for a welcome back reception in the Parish Hall. Please join us for light refreshments, meet our new Acting Director of Religious Education, Charlotte Lehmann, and learn about what's happening at First Church.

This summer has been incredibly busy with the new Membership Database installation, sanctuary repair and painting, Pilgrim window de-installation and repair, kitchen cleaning and appliance updating, staff search, computer updating and cell service improvement, and other deferred maintenance. Our sanctuary has a new, warm color palette that is historic and in keeping with our architecture. We hope you enjoy it!

There are so many people to thank for their tremendous help and energy this summer that I hope to remember them all. Please forgive me if I have left someone out.

My heartfelt thanks go to the following people for their tireless work and energy:

To the Membership Database Committee: Miriam Baker, Lauren Corning, Lauren Crocker, Robin Hughes, Rosalie Kerr, Eva Patalas, Beth Westlund, James Hencke, and from the original working group: Bruce Kozuma, Bruce Logan, Paul Santos, and Stefan Frank. The hours of work you have all put into this monumental undertaking is incredibly appreciated and will benefit the church for decades to come.

Susan Street answered umpteen questions, painstakingly explained processes and procedures; pulled reports, sat in on conference calls, and has risen to the occasion time and again. Other staff and former staff, David Bryce, Alfa Radford, Wendy Conroy, Julie Ennis, Jim Staton, Lillian Anderson, and Laurel Whitehouse, have offered support and patiently answered questions in several rounds of interviews. Ed Yee provided invaluable assistance in getting our data out of Church Windows.

Many other church members met with the committee, answered questions, and offered insight and support instrumental to the process. These include Ben Bauer, Eliza Burden, Bob Corning, Ann Dexter, Debbie Dobbins, Deveaux Duckworth, Patricia Garcia, Gabby Garschina-Bobrow, Laurie Graham, John Howe, Jackie James, Scott Johnson, Bruce Kozuma, Tom Neel, Penny Schafer, David Warner, Jeanne Widmer, Jonathan Wolf, Leslie Wolf, Laura Wooster, and Marilyn Yee.

To the Pilgrim Window Committee: Nancy Davis (Chair), Gerri Strickler and Nanny Almquist. This has been a difficult process and we are fortunate to have such skilled, knowledgeable people on our team. Special thanks to Grant Monahon for his advice, skill and wisdom in negotiation, and in creating our legal documents for this enterprise.

To the DRE Search Committee: Catherine Claypoole (Chair), Eleanor Sugarman, Beth Westlund and Glen Valentine. Special thanks to Wendy Conroy, Jeanne Widmer and David Bryce for their attention and time with the interview process. Extra special thanks to Ann Dexter as our Human Resource guide! While our search for a more permanent DRE continues, we are delighted to have the skill and expertise of Charlotte Lehmann as our Acting DRE for this church year.

To the Building and House Committees: Bob Corning (Chair, Building), Mike Flamang, Ed Bing, Lanier Smythe (Chair, House), Michael Griffin, Penny Schafer, Glen Valentine, Lauren Meyer and Jeanne Mooney. Special thanks to Bob and Mike for answering my many questions during our Insurance inspection and handling Johnson House improvements. Special thanks to Roger Gallagher for his help on the Johnson House. Also special thanks to our church sanctuary colors committee: Ed Bing, Lanier Smythe, Jeanne Widmer, Penny Schafer, Betsy George and Alfa Radford for working with our Professional Interior Designer, Penny Carlhian, in helping us create a warm and welcoming sanctuary. Extra Special Thanks to Michael Griffin for completely cleaning the oven grease trap, completing kitchen inventory, getting and installing our new Refrigerator.

To Susan Street and Luis Carrion: for making sure that the contractors could get needed access/service throughout this long summer - they kept everything humming.

To Alfa Radford: For purchasing our new dimmable LED 100 watt bulbs in our church chandeliers out of her discretionary funds. These will save on energy and cost as well as brightening our sanctuary.

To Ed and Marilyn Yee: To Ed for updating staff computers and getting us enhanced cell coverage, and to Marilyn for making sure that the transfer of accounts to our new Treasurer, Penny Schafer was seamless.

To the Committee on Ministry: Gabby Garschina-Bobrow, Hayat Weiss, Eva Patalas, and Niti Seth for their long hours in reviewing and making meaning of the qualitative data in our survey results.

To the Parish Board: Jeanne Widmer, Penny Schafer, Todd Schatzki, Anne Donohue, Catherine Claypoole, Betsy George, Doug Burden, Jack Weis, Peter Guthrie, Sara Oaklander, and Tom Neel for their time in reviewing and voting on matters from near and far, on or off vacation.

And special thanks to Jeanne Widmer, Jonathan Wolf, Susan Street, Wendy Conroy, Alfa Radford and David Bryce for guiding me through a long summer with their grace, wit, and aplomb!

I am sure I have missed someone, so this, fortunately, will not be the last time you hear from me. I look forward to seeing you all soon.