Read this week’s full newsletter here.

Rev. Jen Crow writes:

This past Sunday, many of you heard me share a poem by Richard Schiffman, titled, “Smart Cookie.” In this poem, the author tells us, with humor, to stop looking for some other cookie or some other life, but to focus on the cookie on our plate, to live the life we have. It can be hard advice to hear, but somehow he delivers it in a way that we can stomach. He writes:

“The fortune that you seek is in another cookie, was my fortune. So I’ll be equally frank – the wisdom that you covet is in another poem. The life that you desire is in a different universe. The cookie you are craving is in another jar. The jar is buried somewhere in Tennessee. Don’t even think of searching for it….Don’t even think of eating that cookie. Be a smart cookie – eat what’s on your plate, not in some jar in Tennessee. That’s my wisdom for today, though I know it’s not what you were looking for.”

Several years ago, we decided that this building, this physical place and space, was our cookie. As a growing congregation with a growing presence in our city, we knew we needed a space that was more welcoming and accessible to all people, more accommodating to community groups that needed a place to gather and plan. We knew we needed more space for religious education for our children and youth and for our small groups, and we knew that there was basic maintenance that we had been neglecting. With all of these needs and hopes, we evaluated our options. We could move to a different space within or beyond the city limits, or we could stay put and invest in this space, bringing it closer to serving the hopes and needs of our church and of our community.

When we weighed all of the options, we decided to stay put, and this building became our cookie. And like all cookies – or buildings or lives – this cookie is a bit of a mixed bag. This building contains its own particular gifts and challenges, and each of us has our own hopes for what this building can be and how it might enable our faith to come even more alive in this world. After multiple listening sessions with the congregation as a whole, and many one-on-one opportunities where we’ve heard your hopes and feedback, the Building Team is moving forward with our architects developing plans for our upcoming construction and renovation. We hope you’ll join us this Sunday, March 25 at 12:45 p.m. in the Sanctuary to learn more about the direction we’re heading, and to learn more about the gifts and challenges of this cookie that is on our plate.

In gratitude,

Rev. Jen