When colleagues ask me what I love most about Foothills, I always respond, “I love how they embrace learning and experimentation as a core part of who they are.” Over the past nine months, we’ve been doing a lot of experimentation. And I’m excited to give you an update on the culmination of nearly six months of intentional work regarding our Community Circles and our Caring Ministry.
When we launched Community Circles, we didn’t know what to expect. What happened far exceeded what we thought possible. We witnessed people caring for each other neighbor-to-neighbor, meeting their fellow Foothills members who they never knew lived so close, and working together to transplant rituals once firmly rooted in the sanctuary into the soil of our local communities.
In close consultation and dialogue with Circle Leaders and other congregation members, we have decided to move away from circles as the primary way we gather and operate during these strange pandemic times. Some circles will continue to meet in various configurations. You can find details about those continuing circles at foothillsuu.org/circles.
Our circles were the way we cared for each other during the past nine months. As Rev. Elaine explains in her update below, we hope to take what we learned and create a more sustainable system that still leverages our geographic connections.
With love,
Rev. Sean
Caring Update from Rev. Elaine
At Foothills, we are dedicated to caring for each other during times of hardship and life transition. Our Caring Network offers support in many ways, including:
- Compassionate listening from our team of trained Caring Listeners (formerly known as “Parish Visitors”)
- Meal delivery
- Caring kits containing items of comfort and ritual for challenging times
- Prayer and blessing
- Spiritual support, including counseling and rites of passage
- Financial support in times of hardship
Reaching out for support or recognition can be difficult, so we have re-organized our Caring Network to make it as easy as possible. Each of our members now belongs to one of five Caring Network Geographic Regions:
- Northern NoCo
- East Fort Collins
- West Fort Collins
- South Fort Collins
- Southern NoCo.
Each of our Caring Listeners is assigned to a particular region to foster deeper connection and relationship.
Click HERE to identify your geographic region.
We all experience heartache, hard times, and significant transitions. Please reach let us know what’s going on in your life by heading to foothillsuu.org/caring and filling out the “Request for Care, Prayers, or Support” form. A member of our Caring Network will get in touch with you soon.
With care,
Rev. Elaine