I hope you all are well and staying reasonably happy during this crazy winter/pseudo summer we have been experiencing.  There is so much to be wary of, unhappy about, and stressed by.  I hope that you are taking time to breathe, and to do whatever it is that helps you to relax and rejuvenate.

Since Christmas, most of the Board’s energy has been expended on formalizing guidelines to help make decisions about in-person gatherings.  This has been mind-boggling and mind-numbing work.  I want to give accolades to our COVID Advisory Panel (Kathleen Tanona, Les Loschky, Rob DeLong, and Stacey Broughman) plus Amy Betz and Dan Swenson for all the work they have done on this.  I believe these guidelines will be available for use following the March Board meeting.

We will resume hybrid in-person and on-line services on March 6, with several restrictions.  Masking is required and there will be no food or drink and no singing in the building.  The use of surgical, KN95, or N95 masks is strongly recommended as is social distancing.

Also on March 6, we will be kicking off our annual Stewardship Campaign with Chris Bailey at the helm.  Watch for your invitation to one of several “kitchen table” conversations to be held in March. 

The Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, April 10, at 1 pm, via Zoom.  You will be provided with an agenda, the proposed 2022/23 budget, and a slate of Board candidates before March 25. 

Pastor Isabel and the Board have been meeting with a facilitator from the MidAmerica Region to set some guidelines for our ministry together and to get a strong start to Pastor Isabel’s ministry here.  We are happy with the job that she has been doing and look forward to taking our shared ministry to a new level.

As always, thank you for trusting us to make decisions for the good of the Fellowship.  If you have any questions, never hesitate to contact any one of us:  Rob Morrison, Past Chair; Amy Betz, Chair-Elect; Cathy Hedge, Secretary; Dan Swenson, Treasurer; Marisa Larsen, Member; Ruddy Benavides, Member.

In Friendship and Peace,   Judy Nickelson, Board Chair

Judy Nickelson, Board Chair

Contact Judy with questions, concerns, and suggestions at judynickelson@gmail.com.