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Rev. Dr. Daniel Ó Connell and Rev. Bonnie Vegiard |
We have been getting ready to roll out the Eliot welcome mat for two long years, but the wait is finally over. In mid-July, Daniel Ó Connell and Bonnie Vegiard opened the front door of their new home and a new chapter in the life of our spiritual home. Between the day the moving van pulled into their driveway and the last busy weeks of the summer, Daniel, Bonnie, Jessica, and Kaylie have been doing all the things families do when they move to a new town: unpacking, getting acquainted with their new community, making friends, signing up for library cards, finding day care, and registering for school.
At the same time, they have already become familiar faces at Eliot, attending endless meetings, trying to put names and faces together, and making plans for programs and activities that will benefit members of the Eliot family. It's an exciting time in the life of a growing congregation when the baton is passed to enthusiastic, energetic new leaders whose vision for what we can be meshes so beautifully with our own.
While no plans have been etched in stone, there are many fresh ideas being explored and discussed. Here are just a few of them:
- Finding more ways for people in the Eliot community to become active participants in the religious service
- Working with the staff to evaluate present procedures and work more effectively as a team
- Making sure that the lay leadership, particularly the board, is achieving mutual satisfaction and benefit as it fulfills its responsibilities
- Increasing variety and depth in the children's worship experience
- Encouraging spiritual connection and discussion through small groups
- Enhancing pastoral care through existing committees, counseling, and referrals to outside resources
- Coordinating day-long adult education programs facilitated by the ministers and members of the congregation
- Working with and assisting people who are interested in presenting summer services
- Rethinking different ways to offer New U classes and respond to requests for additional educational programs
That list barely scratches the surface of possibilities for making Eliot a place that serves its diverse membership in new and creative ways. The coming year will be full of challenges and opportunities for all of us, and we are delighted to have Daniel and Bonnie with us to lead the charge.