This winter, we embarked on a new adventure called the Union Family Quarter - a five-part series of gatherings designed for our community to grow together in connection, possibility, and resiliency.
To be honest, we didn't have a map. Just some big ideas that just kept bubbling up and expanding. So why did we do this - something new and unproven? Checking back in my notes, we had three intentions:
Developing greater COMMUNITY so that we all feel supported in this journey, and not alone. It is our goal to build bridges between the home and our faith community, and with one another. This is deeper than just a connection; it's a shared journey with one another.
Offering POSSIBILITY with new growth opportunities through learning, resources, nourishment, and vitality.
Fostering RESILIENCY for families, caregivers, and those who advocate for parents and children so we can better withstand the tough stuff of life, find ways to make repairs, and be flexible along the journey. This allows us to more fully be who God made us to be.
Phew! Those were big goals but notably worthy of pursuing.
And as I have participated in each of the three previous events, it has humbled me to realize how much I need to learn and how grateful I am for this community and the learning we get to share together.
The 2024 Quarter will come to an end next Sunday with our last gathering led by Dr. Jenny Lee Vaydick. As a follow up, I will email a survey to get your field notes, thoughts, suggestions, and critiques of the Union Family Quarter. All feedback will serve a guide for a new set of gatherings in early 2025.
My personal field notes are peppered with thankfulness, hope, and an overflowing excitement about what is happening within our community. Thank YOU for participating and a HUGE thank you to Renee Notkin, Renée Sundberg, and Phil Lewis who have truly made this endeavor toward greater community, possibility and resiliency a reality. To God be the glory!
See you on Sunday!
Ephesians 1:15-18 (NIV)
"For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,"