Dear WES Membership, 

Thanks again to those of you who filled out our Congregational Survey, as well as to those registered for the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop this weekend. As a reminder, The Congregational Survey Data and Comments Summary can be found in the WES Members section of the website along with a complete set of the open-ended responses.  The survey has given us some valuable information for our candidate search and helped us understand what we need to discuss in more detail. We hope you’ll be part of the continued conversation at one of the 15 cottage meetings the LSC will host on Zoom from November 1 through November 13.  See the full schedule and register for a cottage meeting here. Please note that each cottage meeting will be capped at 15 participants. Smaller groups will allow individual participants more time to speak. 

Based on the reported demographics of survey respondents and to further round out our knowledge, we have identified a few groups with whom we want to have more focused conversations.  Focus groups are planned next week for members who self-identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, members under the age of 45, new members who joined WES from 2017 on, SEEK adults and teachers, and/or current and recent Board Trustees (those who served from 2017 on).    If you self-identify with one (or more) of these groups, please sign up to join the relevant discussion(s)  at this link. Focus group participants who want to contribute to a cottage meeting as well are welcome to sign up for one of those too.  Most of the focus groups have questions that differ slightly from those asked in the cottage meetings. 

We will also be interviewing each and every WES staff member to be sure their important voice is included in our search process. 

The LSC is excited to learn more from you, our fellow WES members, in the coming weeks.  Your contributions will shape the congregational packet we share with applicants as well as our committee’s considerations as we review applicants early next year.   We know we have asked for a lot of your time lately. We remain grateful for your honest and active participation in this process. 

Your LSC, 

Perry Beider

Julie Grimes

Marty Kaufman 

Andrea Naranjo

Christine Parcelli 

Susan Runner 

Jenna Umbriac