As you know by now, we spent several weeks late this spring assessing ourselves through a congregational feedback survey designed to help gauge how we are living into our mission and our relatively new ministry model. Session and staff have reviewed the results, and now are spending this early summer working our way in greater detail through the 41 responses to discern what signals the community is sending about areas we all need to focus on with renewed energy.

Several things are readily apparent from the overview results (linked here):

• The simple fact that 2/3 of the membership of the congregation took the time to respond signals your vibrant engagement with this ministry.
• The most common descriptions of the community are of one that is joyous, welcoming, and inclusive, suggesting that our new ministry model is vibrant and serving the congregation's needs.
• The work ahead of us is not to fix anything seen as broken, but to fine tune areas such as Christian formation, worship planning and community outreach to make a good experience even better.

Session and staff share a deep gratitude for your enthusiastic engagement in the full life of the Clarendon community, and we share an equally deep commitment to ensuring that CPC continues to be a community of welcome, of nourishment, and of following Jesus into the world to feed our neighbors in body, mind and spirit.  As we develop more specific and detailed recommendations, the session and staff will be reaching out to you to invite you into deeper work with us, and we will provide a full accounting of the survey results and a response plan in the coming months. In the meanwhile, please continue to share your thoughts and suggestions as the Spirit moves in your own life.

Grace and peace,

PS: We need someone to host coffee time this Sunday. If you can host, please let the church office know.

File this under "it's seems way down the road, but it's coming sooner than you think!"  

At its June meeting, session voted to call a special congregational meeting for Sunday, September 28, for two items of business:

• The election of elders to fill vacancies on session.
• A proposal to use endowment funds on sanctuary improvements.

Details on these proposals will be forthcoming following session's August meeting. In the meanwhile, if you feel called to serve on session the nominating committee would love to hear from you. Please contact elder Amber Hodgen, chair of the committee.

CPC's Fiber Arts Group meets Thursday, June 26, at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Jeannette Regetz. The group will be working to finish a project begun this spring. Our time together will include prayers, scripture and personal sharing. All are welcome. No experience needed.

Though we begin at 7:00, feel free to drop in when you can.

Jeannette's address: 630 N. Kenmore. Phone: 703-527-6632.

Although she grew-up on a horse farm in the valleys of Southwest Virginia, Michelle was raised in the pews, Sunday school rooms, and fellowship hall of Bedford Presbyterian Church. The unconditional love and support from her congregation and the special experiences at Presbyterian conferences truly solidified her call to attend seminary and enter into ministry. Currently, Michelle is in her final year of a Master's of Divinity at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA. Michelle was introduced to the Ensigns and Clarendon Presbyterian Church at one of your delicious Christmas cookie-bakes through a seminary classmate. Later following Rev. Ensign on Twitter, Michelle was extremely impressed by CPC's dedication to genuine welcoming, inclusivity, and activism as a church with a mission in social justice.

At her core, Michelle is an avid traveler, a passionate artist, and a nerd. Her admiration of the world and its languages has led her to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and George Mason University, where she is also finishing a Masters in Linguistics. In her free time, you can often catch Michelle behind a choir binder, drum set, sewing needle, sketchpad, and/or kitchen mixing-bowl.... Or if she really has a lot of free time, you might catch her curled up on the couch with one of her favorite video games or costumed at one of the many DC area comics & gaming conventions. As one of the summer interns at CPC, Michelle looks forward to sharing and learning with each member of Clarendon Pres.