I am honored to serve as Moderator of this vibrant and active church family.  Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we continue to meet virtually and sustain one another in ways big and small.  We’ve taken some huge leaps of faith: from conducting our recent Congregational Meeting via Zoom (which drew over 150 participants!) to holding virtual book club meetings, Bible study groups, adult education classes, task force discussions, comma groups, choir check-ins, and much more.  We’ve switched to online Sunday worship services and pivoted to conducting Admin Board meetings and Ministry Board meetings via Zoom.  We continued the search process for a new minister despite the pandemic, calling the Rev. Dr. Sarah Halverson-Cano as our next settled pastor.  We look forward to partnering with her to reach new levels of activism and involvement in the social justice causes we hold dear.

Through it all, our guiding mantra has been to “protect the flock” by keeping our members safe while ensuring that everyone remains engaged and informed.  It’s a tough balancing act, but we are a strong congregation and we will work together to survive and come out of this experience even better than before.

These are uncertain and challenging times, with still more unknowns ahead.   We must keep moving forward because we cannot stand still.  Onward, IUCC members – let’s stay involved, stay connected, and keep the faith!

In hope and optimism,

Tricia Aynes
Moderator