Friends,

For the last two weeks, I used this space to give you updates about what we have been doing together over the past months in our mission and ministry through the Outreach Team and the Mission Team. This week, I want to look forward to the coming year in ministry for us.

We will start our planning for 2023 with a special gathering on Sunday, November 6. After worship, we will gather for a potluck lunch, then we will turn our attention to “The Story of Us.” Emily Bhandari, a Strategic Inquiry consultant, will lead us through a conversation designed to clarify the story of PCLT. We will share stories about what we value, what we care about, what motivates us to participate in the life and ministry of PCLT, what we believe God is calling us to do and who we believe God is calling us to be.

This conversation is the beginning of our planning process for Year Two of our Strategic Plan launched with your input last year at this time. The Strategic Plan has guided our mission and ministry for all of 2022, and it is time to take the next step forward. The gathering on Nov. 6 will be followed by a presentation to the Session on Nov. 20: The Story of Lake Travis. At this meeting, Emily will share her landscape analysis and demographic study of the Lake Travis area, who lives here, who is moving here, who our neighbors are, and what the needs are in the communities that surround our church.

Finally, we will gather again as a congregation in January to discern how The Story Continues. This final gathering will result in a plan for action for 2023 that will move our congregation forward into the future God has in store for us.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in these discussions! This is not the story of the Session or the story of the Pastor; it is The Story of PCLT! We need to hear your voice and your passion and your vision.

Peace,

Pastor Jack