The Blessed Trinity Parish Post
BLESSED TRINITY PARISH POST Good Shepherd~Pleasant Hills~Ridgewood UMCs
September 2026
Vol. 1 No. 8
Parish Family and Friends, As we step into September and look toward fall, I want to begin with a word of gratitude. Thank you to the 28 people from across our parish who gathered for our Parish Vision and Leadership Conference in August. Vision Team members, leadership board and church council members, staff, and other faithful leaders gave their time, energy, prayers, honesty, and hope to this important work. I’m deeply grateful. Over the past year, our Parish Vision Team has been listening, praying, learning, and helping us begin to name where God may be leading us as one church in three places. At the conference, we expanded on that work together. We named our broad vision, priorities, and core values. We looked more deeply at who our neighbors are and what needs may be present in the communities around us. We began honest conversations about our financial realities and the need to think differently about how we use our buildings, gifts, and resources as we live into the vision God is placing before us. We also named some important next steps. One of those is the need for a combined Financial State of the Parish so we can better understand the full picture of where we are. We also began the process of forming two teams made up of members from across the parish: a Building and Resources Investigative Committee and a Parish Leadership Team. These teams will help us continue the work of discernment, collaboration, planning, and faithful action. Together, we also set 30-, 60-,and 90-day action steps so this vision work does not simply remain a conversation but begins to take shape in concrete ways. More information about this work is coming soon, along with opportunities to talk together about what we are learning, what questions are emerging, and how you can be part of living into God’s vision for us. I know these conversations are not always easy. For some, they may feel especially tender or difficult, particularly for those who are deeply connected to one congregation’s building, history, memories, and ministry. Those connections matter. Our buildings have held baptisms and funerals, weddings and potlucks, Sunday School classes and choir rehearsals, prayers and tears and laughter. They have been sacred spaces because God’s people have gathered there. And yet, as people of faith, we also believe God is always calling us forward. These conversations are not about having less. They are about making room for more. More ways to deepen our faith. More ways to grow as disciples. More ways to connect with our neighbors. More ways to meet real needs in our community. More ways to use our spaces for mission. More ways to empower leaders. More ways to collaborate across congregations. More ways to be the church together. We don’t know exactly where every step will lead… yet. But we’re learning to listen. We’re learning to trust. We’re learning to ask faithful questions. We’re learning what it means to be one church in three places, not only in name, but in shared life, shared mission, and shared hope. The work ahead matters. And it belongs to all of us. So be on the lookout for more information, more opportunities for conversation, and more ways to participate. God isn’t finished with us yet. The Spirit’s still on the move. Grace and peace, Rev. Stephanie September 2026
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