Time is an interesting thing, measured in many different ways, and experienced in different ways by people in various cultures. We measure time in seconds, minutes, days, years, etc., and there are calendar years, fiscal years, etc. At Cedars, we started a new church year this past July 1st, and with that, came changes in the composition of your Board of Trustees. I have stepped in to fill the shoes of our past president, Richard Wilson, a task that I have decided is pretty impossible, as Richard has done so much for the life of our congregation in his tenure as board president, and in so many other countless ways.
I have been thinking about what it will mean to be the president of the Cedars Board of Trustees this coming year, and about what might be important in the life of our congregation. In reflecting on this, I was reminded of the lovely bookmark that Diana Peters, a venerable member of our congregation, gave to me after I was elected as president. She had made these bookmarks for the trustees of a previous church of which she was a member. The bookmark has a lovely purple heart (not sure if there was symbolism intended in this) with several definitions that are worthy of noting. They are:
- Trustee (n): a member of a board elected or appointed to direct the funds and policy of an institution.
- Trusty (adj,): dependable, faithful, reliable
- Trust (n): 1. One in which confidence is placed. 2. Care. 3. something committed into the care of another. 4. the condition and resulting obligation of having confidence placed in one.
As an institution, Cedars has a group of folks who are elected to care for the financial well being of our church, as well as help direct the way we do things as a congregation—our “policy.” You have placed your confidence or ‘trust’ in each of the members of the board to be dependable, faithful, and reliable, and we have an obligation to treat that trust with care and respect. As your incoming president, I am confident that the board members you have elected are committed to doing the best we can in our jobs as trustees. Over the next months we will be looking at some important questions, such as what is our identity in the community, what do we hope to accomplish, and how can we best use the strengths and resources we have. I look forward to working with you and the other members of the board on these and other important issues that may arise as we go forward into another church year.
Angie Hoffpauir
Oh my! Angie! You’re the dern President?! Should I say CONGRATS or what possessed you??? hahahahahaha
I just watched the little movie “Cedars Welcomes You” noted in this Beacon. So many PEOPLE are at the service. Amazing how its grown since I arrived on BI in 2001. If you are going to the FROG party coming up, I may be able to chat with all of you via SKYPE or phone if that doesn’t work. Molly is going to try to hook us all us.
Break a leg, girl ~ Hugs to you and Phil
LN
LN – so nice to hear from you! Yes, I am not sure if congrats or condolences are in order! Maybe some of both
Phil says, “What were you thinking!?!” We will be at the Frog party, so hope the Skype things works out. WOuld be lovely to see you in person (well, virtual person). Hope all is going well for you in NC.