From Pastor Sarah

September Thoughts to Share

Dear Bay Shore,

September is here, and it’s a busy one. We have added many NEW opportunities for entry and engagement with our congregation. We have re-modeled our Sunday School experiences for children. You will certainly notice this within our weekly emails.

Why are we doing this? To create multiple ways for people to come and see what Bay Shore is about, and to welcome new people into our community here. We love Bay Shore, we want to share it with others.

Many of you know that we began our month with a frank conversation on our church and its vitality, and Council and Staff launched the new initiative, Come and See: An Invitation to All. I sincerely pray that you will see that YOU are needed, wherever you are, to help Bay Shore to grow. This Sunday, after worship, I will lead a brief workshop on “how to” invite people to Bay Shore, and provide some actual tools and resources to use. Now is not the time to “let others” lead–now is the time for all of us to rally together. Bay Shore will not grow in this current culture without personal invitations from us to others. Please come this Sunday and learn more!

This month, I continue to be available to listen to Bay Shore feelings and opinions about the RIC process. I have heard from several of you, and I hope to hear more. In October, the Council and I will review what I have heard and receive feedback from the RIC team. Please connect with me and schedule a meeting to share your thoughts concerning this process.

One thing though I would like to share is an updated report that the Council received in August regarding our timeline, our offerings and more for this process. I understand how time can go quickly, and information overload can be a lot, but we have been active in the process for years. This document may help (click here).