Below is part of a recent message from one of our Board members, which we thought to share with the wider community:
In Woolman Hill’s November Board meeting, there was worship sharing following our decision on budget and moving forward with next steps. The discernment was described as a “leap of faith,” and one Board member was uncomfortable with that characterization. What rose after that, and was voiced into the sharing, was that this was a “leap of faithfulness” on the part of the Board.
Another way to carry this – we’ve been hewing close to our Guide. The ideas about improving our accommodations have been in the air for well over a decade, and now they are coming to first fruits in this project. They are grounded in a strategic plan that is ‘holding’ and nourishing our movements as a Board, keeping our gaze steadily on the sustainability and accessibility goals of the plan. And they have been supported in unexpected and totally miraculous turns of events. Even a pandemic has been, in the frame of our discernment, a gift of grace, and a deeply enriching time.
In discussions with f/Friends who have been past Board members on the Hill, they are struck with the evolution of this body – one Friend called it a ‘maturing’ that has impressed her and re-energized her interest in the Hill. This evolution has, in many ways, led us into the work that is happening on the Hill right now.
All of this points, for me, to faithful transformation of our body, and commitment of that body to a vision that is so important for our times – especially after the political turmoil of recent past that is rooted in over 20 years of an emerging, uncharitable stridency in public discussion:
Our vision is to provide a welcoming sanctuary where people come to be restored and inspired,
and leave with the strength to act out of love, sowing seeds of peace that lead to a world transformed.
I believe the Hill is a ground for nurturing emerging, prophetic voices among us that will bring about a world transformed.
That may be a lot to lay on the ridgepole of a modest building project. But, for me, this is the most important project that I have been associated with. Framing the effort (no pun intended) as “transformational” is grounded in the leading we’ve all been living under.
The addition Woolman Hill is both inspiring and inspired!
Do you have a goal by which the project will be done…and a projection of when the updated facility will be available for event rentals?
Thanks, Nancy! It’s been exciting to see the progress – and things are really shaping up. We’re hosting our first weekend group since March of 2020 right now! Construction on the new addition is entering its final stages and we expect to have full use of the space by the end of August. Come up and we can give you a tour of it sometime soon!