2026 Short and Long Term Planning

Dear Northminster,

​Happy New Year! I hope you all have had a lovely holiday season and that this new year has gotten off to a good start. That said, I also know that this year has a lot in store for us at Northminster (as well as for me personally). So let us take a brief look at what is happening in the short and long term in 2026 at Northminster. 

This Week: 

• January 8 - First Session Meeting of the year. 
• January 10  - Leadership Training for Elders, Deacons, and Committee Members
  • This Saturday, the leaders of the congregation are gathering for our annual Leaders Training. We will meet in the Lounge at 10 a.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided
  • The morning session is specifically for Elders and Deacons where they will be doing group building activities, reviewing the Book of Order, and setting goals for the year. 
  • The afternoon session is open to everyone in the congregation who would like to be involved with our 2026 brainstorming and planning session where we will begin to tackle how to implement our new Mission Focus. 
• January 11 at 11 a.m. - Installation of our 2026 Elders and Deacon
• January 11 after worship - Sharing Dinners Planning Meeting.
  • Because of the leadership training on January 10th, the January Sharing Dinners event has been postponed until January 16th or 17th. 

Next Week:

• January 12 at 7 p.m. - Stitch n Bitch
• January 15 at 7 p.m. - First Deacons Meeting of the year
• January 16 or 17 - Sharing Dinners. 

Week of Jan 19:

• January 19 - Martin Luther King Jr Day
• January 20 at 12:30 p.m. - Men's Lunch 
• January 22 at 7 p.m. on Zoom - first All Committee Meeting of the year

Week of Jan 26:

• January 26 - Women's Lunch

Later this year:

• February 18 - Ash Wednesday
• February 22 after worship - Annual Meeting 
• Mid-March through June/July - Pastor Chris on Maternity Leave. 
  • While I would love to provide a more definite timeline, babies do not understand calendars or planning. At this point in time, it is best for us to be prepared for my leave to begin anywhere from March 8th on the early end to March 22nd on the later end. 
• March 29 - Palm Sunday
• April 5 - Easter Sunday. 

As you can see, there is a lot happening at the beginning of 2026. On top of these planned events, the Operations Committee and Personnel Team are hard at work in the search for a new office assistant. We have received over 70 applications for the job. The team is spending the rest of this week reviewing applications and we hope to begin interviews next week. In the meantime, I will be covering some of the office duties (including assembling this email). So I ask for your grace if you spot errors or mistakes in the Notes in the weeks to come. 

Happy New Year everyone! There is work to be done and Jesus is asking us to step out in faith. Let us trust that the Spirit will guide us throughout our work this year! 


Blessings,
Pastor Chris