From our President, Miranda Rand
Personal Reflections:
With COVID running rampant again and many of my favorite activities such as eating out or going to the movies severely limited, I pause to breathe out my frustration and to breathe in my appreciation for the Interfaith Community and especially for our Coordinating Council.
The pandemic shut down disrupted us--it disrupted the way we’d been ‘conducting business’ for years and it forced us to look at different ways to hold meetings, take in money, and imagine the future.
In 2021 our organization will turn 50. Like many non-profits in these turbulent times, we are wondering how our future will be. We’ve been thinking, strategizing, hoping and praying. Here below are some of the issues that have engaged our time and energy; issues that we continue to wrestle with.
First, we engaged with a consultant for a free evaluation. Two things concerning the way we operate surfaced from that meeting: relevancy and recruitment. Due to the high cost of continuing with this service, we decided to try and work through our issues on our own.
Second, in response to this decision, our Coordinating Council now meets for an extended period each month. Vice President, Rev. Joselle Gagliano, as an interfaith chaplain and former attorney, is an experienced retreat leader. It is under her careful guidance that we have been brainstorming our future. Although much fruitful discussion has ensued, no clear-cut revelations have surfaced.
Just as we look forward to what the future holds for us, so we continue to debate, to keep the issues identified by the consultant in mind and (hopefully), to safely hold a grand and joyous, in-person, 50- year celebration.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Shalom, Peace. May we find the good in each other, live our lives richly; experience the blessings of friendships that come from mutuality and genuine respect.
Miranda Rand, President. Sending out love to the universe.
[reprinted from Winter 2020 IFC newsletter]
With COVID running rampant again and many of my favorite activities such as eating out or going to the movies severely limited, I pause to breathe out my frustration and to breathe in my appreciation for the Interfaith Community and especially for our Coordinating Council.
The pandemic shut down disrupted us--it disrupted the way we’d been ‘conducting business’ for years and it forced us to look at different ways to hold meetings, take in money, and imagine the future.
In 2021 our organization will turn 50. Like many non-profits in these turbulent times, we are wondering how our future will be. We’ve been thinking, strategizing, hoping and praying. Here below are some of the issues that have engaged our time and energy; issues that we continue to wrestle with.
First, we engaged with a consultant for a free evaluation. Two things concerning the way we operate surfaced from that meeting: relevancy and recruitment. Due to the high cost of continuing with this service, we decided to try and work through our issues on our own.
Second, in response to this decision, our Coordinating Council now meets for an extended period each month. Vice President, Rev. Joselle Gagliano, as an interfaith chaplain and former attorney, is an experienced retreat leader. It is under her careful guidance that we have been brainstorming our future. Although much fruitful discussion has ensued, no clear-cut revelations have surfaced.
Just as we look forward to what the future holds for us, so we continue to debate, to keep the issues identified by the consultant in mind and (hopefully), to safely hold a grand and joyous, in-person, 50- year celebration.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Shalom, Peace. May we find the good in each other, live our lives richly; experience the blessings of friendships that come from mutuality and genuine respect.
Miranda Rand, President. Sending out love to the universe.
[reprinted from Winter 2020 IFC newsletter]
