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What is the Open Doors Working Group working on in 2026?
The Open Doors Working Group hosted coffee hour in January and displayed 4 posters giving a snapshot of what the Open Doors Working Group is engaging in as we try to understand how God is calling us to use our church buildings into the future. In the last 3 weekly newsletters we have shared one of these posters along with some background. So far, these have been
Why Now? – Why, at this stage, is the church planning steps regarding the future of our large and beautiful building?
What has the Open Doors Working Group been working on? – The Open Doors Working Group (ODWG) is the small team charged with spearheading the thinking about the future of the building. We gave a very brief summary of the avenues of our work.
How do we approach evaluating Mission Zone opportunities? – The ODWG proposed to the congregation at the May annual meeting that the church consider dividing the building into 2 zones – a Congregational zone and a Mission zone. This slide looked at how we might go about evaluating possibilities, (many and varied), for the use of the Mission zone.
This week we are sharing with you the 4th of these posters. ‘What is the Open Doors Working Group working on in 2026?’
Open Doors Working Group: Ben Keeler (LT representative and chair), Jonathan Goodell, Kris Montgomery, Andrew Sansom, Penny Sparrow and Branda Wilhoite.
Week 4: What is the Open Doors Working Group working on in 2026?
The work of the ODWG is careful, thoughtful and intense! In the fall we have been largely behind the scenes as we try to put together the next stages of our process. Since the beginning of January we have been trying to bring that process back to the congregation and get all of us caught up with what ideas are being generated and evaluated. We know that it is the congregation that needs to make major decisions about the future of the church and we trust that the Spirit works through and among us all to help us discern where God is leading. Our recent coffee hours and this series of emails have been a first step in providing information and encouraging attention to these matters. We are going to have open meetings, likely in the second half of February, where, together, we start to get to grips with the decisions that must be made in the next few months. We hope you will be able to attend these – we are eager to have the input and engagement of all. This poster highlights, very briefly, some of our near-term goals.
