This is the season of shifts—some of you have new staff, new board members, and a new church year upon us. We are all shifting gears of sorts.

Your regional program staff is also shifting into the new year. Our late August retreat felt like a launch into a new era for us. This bi-annual time together is one of the few times we’re physically all together. It’s a beloved time of worshipping and reflecting, recommitting to our covenant, connecting to each other and our calls and aligning our strategies. With the addition of a new staff member, Annie Scott, we took the opportunity to receive her many good questions as a way to break down assumptions as to why we do things the way we do them. We got clear on our core beliefs that guide our work. What came out was a list of intentional and aspirational movements we call "shift statements."

Shift Statements

Moving from I to we
Moving from fear to faith
Moving from despair to hope
Moving from perfection to wholeheartedness
Moving from either/or to both/and
Moving from defensiveness to curiosity
Moving from shame to compassion

Over the course of the coming year you’ll hear more about these shifts. We’ll go deeper each month highlighting a shift and offering resources to help you move what may be shifting in you. We will also include addition resources including articles, podcasts, sermons, music and much more.