by Patrick Kahney

As a new member of the Board of Trustees I was asked to share my thoughts regarding my time on the board thus far. First, however, I would like to thank everyone in our congregation both past and present. When our family started coming here in 2008 we knew right away we had found the right place for us, and two more kids and nearly ten years later we remain thrilled with our decision to become a part of this community.

My first observation as a new board member is that we have an incredible community. We are a diverse community that is becoming more so all the time, and actively involved in making the world and ourselves better. Collectively, we have an incredibly positive attitude and we work really well together. It’s impressive to see how this machine works behind the scenes.

This leads me to my second observation. I can’t emphasize enough how much more is happening in our congregation than I ever really thought about before. I’ve been doing sound for a while, and I volunteer to help out as a back up usher/greeter. I’ve helped out with some grounds committee work, shoveling snow and things like that. We’ve made PB&J’s and supply a backpack stuffed with goodies for the school year each September, but I never really considered that while we are volunteering to help out others in their initiatives, we are consumers of a service that all of the committee members, ministries, and councils are providing us. They are providing all of us with an opportunity to do something good. To pitch in, in whatever way we are capable. Now, I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I never thought of it this way before. Frankly, I wonder how long I would have gone on looking at it this way had I not been invited to join the board.

Until I realized how much was happening behind the scenes, I always thought I was the person helping out when someone asked for a hand. Now that I’ve spent two months going to board meetings and seeing how much is happening, how much the people working on these initiatives care about doing things the right way, and how great of a job they are doing, I realize that the result of those efforts (asking for volunteers to pitch) is really our congregations way offering one another a chance to make a difference.

We have a great community, and we are doing some great things, I am so honored to be asked to serve in this capacity, and I can’t wait to see where we are in two years.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out.