Last September, we published Church Goals for the year, and at February’s Board meeting we took the opportunity to review our progress against those goals. I’m pleased to report that we have made good progress on several of our goals.
Better support and integrate young families into the church
- Plan, design, and build a playground that is accessible to children of all ages and abilities, by the Spring of 2026.
The Playground Task Force has made good progress on identifying feasible options for a playground that will meet the needs of both East Shore community. The Playground was elected as the Fund-a-Need project for the Auction, raising just over $20,000. Funds for the project may also come from the church’s Building Reserve Funds. If you are able to help this much needed project by making an additional financial contribution, you can do so by contacting Marcy Langrock, our Director of Finance and Operations, or donating online.
We are currently in a due diligence phase for the playground project. Our main priority is ensuring that every detail—from the budget to the design—aligns with East Shore’s long-term needs. We are reviewing the regulatory requirements and lease agreements so that when we move forward, we do so sustainably and successfully for the whole community.
- Continue to make coffee hour more welcoming to families and visitors by expanding out onto the patio, having more food every Sunday, more volunteers to help, and improving the noise abatement.
The North Room now has some cozy furniture and better lighting, making it more welcoming. A great volunteer system is in place to track Sunday volunteers, although we could use more contributions of food on Sundays (sign up here). We have a new sturdy cart ready for use outside in the summer. Noise abatement panels need some handyman effort to get their length adjusted to fit the North Room wall before installation. If you can help with this project, please contact Doug Strombom.
Deepen our members’ involvement in the life of the church
- Set up and nurture a process for the on-going creation of new sustainable small ministry groups for purposes of support, social connection, and spiritual growth. Small ministry groups include covenant circles, social groups, and specific need groups such as grief groups, by June 2026.
Soul Matters is a national program to support spiritual exploration in a small group format. A project to start up a Soul Matters program of small groups here at East Shore has been initiated and two groups are now meeting monthly. In September, we hope for some of those participants to help start up more small groups so that the concept spreads throughout our community.
- Intentionally invite the Social Justice (SJ) ministry teams and other teams and committees to organize activities that engage families and Religious Education (volunteers & students) as well as other members of the congregation, by June 2026.
This goal invites collaboration with R.E. staff, as they hold the primary responsibility for our family ministry—working with children, youth, parents, and volunteers to develop programs that support integration into congregational life. Several successful opportunities are already in place; for example, the Porchlight and Grounds teams have members visit R.E. classrooms a few times a year so families and students can participate in team activities alongside adults. Additionally, R.E. staff recently worked closely with the Auction Team to provide childcare, youth volunteer opportunities, and targeted family outreach.
While challenges this year have included budgeting and financial constraints, volunteer leadership interest, and scheduling, we have found that when these factors are integrated early in the planning cycle, collaborations are more successful and sustainable. We encourage all committees and ministry teams to connect with the R.E. staff this season to discern new possibilities for shared leadership and collaboration.
- Promote a culture of volunteerism at East Shore by creating easy ways to volunteer and publicizing volunteer opportunities by June 2026.
New “Get Involved” webpages have been published, where links to upcoming events and volunteer opportunities for big events can easily be displayed. Beacon articles have been written to highlight key needs. This will be an ongoing project, as there are always new ways to get involved coming up. If you are looking to get more involved, talk with Nicole Duff, our Director of Membership Development.
- Research and explore the concept of a weekday Evensong service with a view toward implementing a test run of a 6-session Evensong contemplative service by the end of June 2026.
It has felt more important to hold vigils in these trying times. Several vigils, both in person and online have been much appreciated by those needing a safe place to share their feelings. Therefore holding vigils when needed will be our strategy until the need is less acute.
Promote East Shore to the wider community
- Develop a plan for marketing East Shore as a venue for weddings, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, by Nov 2025, with implementation early in 2026.
With the current lack of room and staff availability, it is difficult for us to host weddings at present, so it’s not appropriate to market East Shore as a venue. However, I’m pleased to report that two weddings have been held in our Sanctuary in recent months.
- Plan for additional tabling opportunities for outreach into the Eastside community for the summer of 2026, and get people excited about participation.
This summer, we will participate in the Pride Parade and Salmon Days in October. We also have a date planned for the Mariners outing.
In addition to these overall church goals, we have made good progress on a key board goal as well.
Move to a Minister-Led Model
We have had a Staff Leadership Team model for the past several years, where a team of staff reported directly to the Board. This has proved to have some limitations, and we agreed to move to a collaborative Minister-led Model, where all the directors report to the minister. This has required updating the staff handbook, policies and bylaws, as well as Rev Maria Cristina adjusting her schedule to accommodate taking over the supervision of 3 additional staff (Nicole, Amanda Alice and Marcy). Nicole, Amanda Alice and Marcy, as well as Eric all now report directly to Rev Maria Cristina, drafts of the revised documents are being reviewed by the Board, and we anticipate completion of this project by June 2026.
As always, if you have any questions about the work your Board is doing, or have any concerns you’d like to raise, feel free to reach out to me.
Amanda Strombom, Interim President of the Board of Trustees.