We know many of you have been anxious to see Joys and Concerns return to our worship services.  The Worship Arts team has been considering how to include this element back into Sunday services in the most equitable and inclusive way and are excited that we have a plan to try! In collaboration with Rev. Laura, we have decided that Joys, Concerns, and Milestones from members of the congregation will be shared in writing with the worship leader before worship and included in the prayer. We are excited to implement this strategy so that everyone – virtually and in-person – may participate.

To share your written Joy, Concern or Milestone: 

• Go to any weekly newsletter update and near the bottom you will find a link to the “Form To Share A Joy, Concern or Milestone.” 
• Fill out the information on the form any time prior to 8:00 am on Sunday and it will be included in the Prayer that Sunday. Any submissions received after 8:00 am will be included in the prayer the following week. If the form card is completed by or for a youth, we encourage you to not give a family name on the card, as a way to safeguard the identity of youth.

We look forward to hearing your joys, concerns, and milestones!  What happens in the lives of any of us is important to all of us.

We are aware that this solution is not a full return to spoken Joys and Concerns during worship.  We are trying to ensure that our services are fully: 1) safe, 2) inclusive, and 3) equitable. The difficulty with spoken Joys and Concerns is that it doesn’t meet any of these criteria. Every week, we share our services via YouTube, and so the record of our services “lives” on the internet forever.  For some this is not an issue, but for some it poses a safety concern and thus limits their participation in our worship, meaning it is neither inclusive nor equitable. If, for the sake of safety for all in the service, we went “offline” for Joys and Concerns, it would  remove privacy and safety concerns, but it would not be inclusive. For those participating online. We invite you into ongoing conversations with any thoughts or suggestions you might have about how we can share our joys, concerns, and milestones with one another while also meeting the criteria we are trying to follow. 

Respectfully, Rob Craig-Comin, Co-Chair, Sharlene Reynolds Santo, Co-Chair, Al Murray, Allison Sillers, Andy Gatchell, and Brooke Martino