I instigated these writings at the concerned request of a member of Aldrich Church. She rightfully asked “If eight people—four from Aldrich Church and four from Church of All Nations—are gathering every few weeks to envision a rebirth of Aldrich Church, how can the rest of us can stay in the loop? What about a blog?” A very fair question. How can this eight-person vision team effectively keep Aldrich members apprised? This blog aims to keep the entire Aldrich community “present” at the table of these re-planting vision conversations.
I hope my reflections will prove useful for the members of Aldrich Church as we face an intimidating crossroads, as well as our friends at Church of All Nations and perhaps the community at large. I am grateful to (Jane Berge) for planting the idea—certainly the reflection will be valuable personally and merely as a reason to write. I warn readers, especially my fellow Aldrich members, that I will not be entirely gentle, nor thorough. I will often write frankly about the difficult issues we discuss. I will pick and choose nuggets of discussion based on what stands out to me. Consider my take on our discussions qualified as my take; the other seven committee members may have interpreted conversations differently. In any case I invite your feedback, your arguments, your concerns, and certainly your prayer as Aldrich Church and Church of All Nations discern together whether Aldrich Church should “re-plant” as a congregation with a new identity, new name, new intention – celebrating our 100 year history and its fertile soil that makes rebirth possible.
