Two Years In ...

Two years ago this week, I said yes to serving as your Core Council president. It’s been humbling, stretching, and often joyful — and harder than I imagined. I'm glad I said yes.

A lot has changed in these two years. We’ve accomplished a lot together, and I’m grateful for everyone who steps up in their own unique ways. With change comes challenge, and this role regularly reminds me that both can exist side by side — progress and uncertainty, joy and difficulty, vision and the hard work it takes to make it real.

During the pandemic, I made a practice of finding joy in moments and not taking anything for granted. Last Sunday, Rev. Liz brought that home again with William Blake’s words, “Kiss the joy as it flies.” Even in the midst of pain or struggle, joy shows up — but sometimes we have to look for it. She also talked about “doing the hard.” Author Glennon Doyle coined a similar phrase in one of her earlier books (now a book of the same name), We Can Do Hard Things. I remind myself of this often. And when I forget, Rev. Michael is quick to remind me — to not take on too much, to let enough be enough, and to find the joy, even when it's hard.  

You’ve likely heard me say our Center is almost entirely volunteer-run right now, with just a couple of part-time paid roles. It won’t always be this way — we have a plan in place, and while some of it is iterative and some requires your input, our vision includes a senior leader / ministerial role by mid-next year. But it will take all of us, in different ways, to get there. 

Why I Do It

Why do I do all the things, even when they're hard? Because I care about this place, our collective community, each of you, and the roots we’ve grown from. And I believe in our philosophy — it’s practical spirituality that works when applied, and my wish is that more could experience it, especially now, when the pace of change and the level of uncertainty are increasing daily in the world around us. Our philosophy isn't new, we just have to remember. Even before Ernest Holmes, there was evidence that energy and thought are creative… and now science is proving it. 

Now two years in, I’m grateful for this community and the future we're co-creating. Thanks for being here. 

Laura McLeod