By Rev. Annie Kopko

This is Part I of a four-part report on the Visioning process for the future of Interfaith. This process is led by a co-creation team and consists of four events of discovering, dreaming, designing and finally delivering for our beloved community.

We have set a timeline for community visioning for Interfaith this next year 2018, which is our 20^th year as an interfaith spiritual community.  We should be very proud of what we have created together, and in order to keep a strong community, every few years we need to revisit our vision for our future.  2017 was a year of profound and exciting change, with the retiring of our senior minister senior Dave Bell.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate in each of these events, held on Saturday mornings in 2018 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Part 1—Discovering and Appreciating the Best of “What is” (already completed)

Part 2—Dreaming and Imagining “What Could Be” Jan. 20, 2018

Part 3—Designing and Determining “What Should Be” April 21, 2018

Part 4—Delivering “What Will Be”  Date: TBA

Part 1 of our Vision took place on Saturday Nov. 18, 2017. Sixteen of us took part in the process. Our task was to find out what we do well, what do we value, what do we want to keep.  The following is a synopsis of what we shared at this gathering.

What we do well is offer a spiritually welcoming and inclusive community that gives each of us opportunity for spiritual growth and awareness. We do this primarily through our Sunday services, which are our profoundly creative opportunity for accepting, supporting, and celebrating one another on our shared journey.  Some of our favorite ways we do this is with the Namaste greeting, our meditations, readings, and especially open mic.

We know that involvement creates empowerment. Showing up happens to be important.  It is a profound act of service both to ourselves and for each other. We have a chance both to listen and to be heard.  We have a chance to love and be loved, support each other, and find a way to accept our own power for healing ourselves and others.  This is the way we heal the world.

What never ceases to amaze me (but of course makes perfect sense) is how showing up on Sunday can help to manifest positive outcomes in our lives and work.  This is how: we find acceptance of all spiritual paths; we see that expressing spirituality here at Interfaith is practice for outside; we are more confident in uncomfortable conversations; we are teaching our children by our example; we teach each other the same way.  We seek and find expanded awareness, entertain unlimited possibility, and truly find a spiritual home through community