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When we moved to Texas two years ago, one of the first things we did was look for a church. It's how we've approached the move to a new community through many moves, over many years. Our church life has always formed the structure that determines how we live. Many of our friends come from our church community; much of our energy is utilized in church activities. We were disappointed in our first efforts to find an ELCA congregation and eventually settled on the Presbyterian church we passed on the way to and from one of the churches we visited a couple of times. Something about the "aura" of Round Rock Presbyterian invited us in, where we found welcoming members and a pastor passionate about social justice and service to the community. The theology and worship customs were consistent with our faith. It felt just right. I joined the Mission Committee and jumped right in to service activities: Mobile Loaves & Fishes (making & distributing meals to homeless or disadvantaged in inner-city Austin), Habitat for Humanity build days, Blessing Box (food pantry) contributions, and volunteering to co-coordinate a partnership with an elementary school with a high percentage of Spanish-speaking, low-income, low-performing students. Despite the challenges of a Covid year, each of these activities has been rewarding. Recently, I was asked to participate with a group from our church in a 12-week class led by The Church Lab of Austin in "Reimagining Service." The primary focus of the program is to teach congregations how to discover the actual needs of the surrounding community (as opposed to perceived needs) by asking people what they need and by doing research. Next, we'll focus on discovering the congregation's resources and abilities, and strategize the best ways to leverage them. It sounds very commonsense, but it isn't the way many church ministries originate. We may discover we're already doing what our community most needs, but find more effective ways to meet those needs. On the other hand, we may find that we're not providing much benefit to our community through current efforts and need to rethink what we do altogether. Either way, I'm all in. The elements of the class are right up my alley, and I can't wait to reimagine our service to the Round Rock area. --Janice
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January 2022
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