An Important Congregational Meeting – June 1, 2008, 11:15 am.

You’ve probably seen invitations to come to the June 1st Congregational meeting – I’d like to take this opportunity to ask all of you to attend. Something important is happening and we need your support and encouragement.

Sixty years ago or so, Trinity leadership and membership embraced a difficult and wonderful vision: to develop and support a Christian Day School as a primary focus of the church’s mission in the world. The vision for the school met the needs of the church and the community of that time, and it was an effective way to bring the gospel to the community and help the congregation grow.

Today, the church has changed, the community has changed, but the mission of the school and the vision for how to carry it out is largely the same. It really didn’t adapt well to the changing church and community around it, and at least partly as a result of that, the school isn’t doing well. We need to change that vision, that understanding of what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and why...

The School Board and Church Council will bring a formal resolution on 6/1 that does nothing less than to propose to completely rework the school from the inside out. The substantive changes made will include requiring teachers to hold a valid California teaching credential, reworking our curriculum to match and even exceed state standards, and commit to a portfolio-based accreditation program through the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association.

New vision, new directions, changes in programs and people, loss of grades – these all can seem a bit scary. Why can’t we just keep it like it is? It’s a valid question, but ultimately, taking the mission of the church and school seriously means that must minister to the community of today, not of 40-60 years ago. The time when we could just open our doors and expect students to flock in is gone. Today we must offer a much higher quality “product” in the school, or people will simply go elsewhere. In any ministry, if current needs aren’t being met, not many will come to take advantage of what we offer.

I’m frankly excited for the opportunity to help develop a NEW Vision for our school, a vision which takes into account our community, not just our history, that holds to a goal of exceeding the quality of education offered in public schools, not just meeting some minimum, where kids’ test scores reflect the quality of education offered with joy in this place.

Please join us on June 1st. New Visions await...

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Larry