Merger Leadership Team Update: Progress and Next Steps

Dear Beloved Hillside & Sanctuary Community,

As we continue on this sacred (and exciting!) journey toward a shared future, we want to keep you informed about the work of the Merger Leadership Team and the progress being made. Our team met on Feb 2 and in a pivotal moment commissioned two essential subcommittees to get into the details and bring a proposal for merger to our congregations. Here’s a summary of what’s happening and what’s coming next.

Affirming Our Vision and Values

The merger process has confirmed what we already know—we are better together! The Merger Team’s time together has reaffirmed our experience of the past five years of joint mission and ministry. As a merged community, we are committed to

• Embracing an accepting, progressive welcome
• Innovative, creative, and informal worship
• Partnering in impactful outreach
• Fostering connections that are warm, open, loving, and just
• Doing what we do with humor, adaptability, and innovation
• ✨What words come to mind when you think about our shared future? Add your thoughts to our “word cloud” here.

This story of who we are, what we value, and what we want our future to be will provide the framework from which we develop a proposal that embodies these commitments in our mission, ministries, leadership, governance, and decision-making as we merge into one vibrant faith community.

Bylaws and Governance: A Foundation for Our Future

A critical part of any church is a governance structure that ensures faithful decision-making, communication, and leadership that upholds the vision and values and makes space for the future story of the church. The team considered these key questions:

• How do we uphold our shared values in leadership?
• What structures best support our mission?
• Are there bylaw changes needed to reflect our collective identity?

As a result, a Bylaws Subgroup has been entrusted with drafting proposals on key governance elements, including:

1. Purpose Statement (aka Mission Statement) – Uniting our congregations under a shared theological and missional foundation.
2. Membership – Clarifying what it means to belong in our community.
3. Church Council Structure – Outlining a representative leadership model for the transition period.

The Bylaws Subgroup hopes to complete its proposals by late February, and they will be presented to the congregations as soon as possible for approval.

Mission and Ministry: Dreaming Big Together

This is where things get really exciting—imagining what our shared ministry will look like! The Mission and Ministry Subcommittee is tasked with bringing that vision to life by developing:

A Ministry Plan – Prioritizing our mission and ministry efforts, assessing current programs through the lens of our future story, and deciding which ministries to add, retain, release, shrink, maintain, or grow.

A Staffing Model – Designing a sustainable structure that ensures we have the right people in the right roles to support our ministry vision while ensuring fair compensation and support for all staff.

A Balanced Budget – Crafting a financial plan that funds our ministry priorities, aligns with Hillside’s financial protocols, and charts a sustainable financial path forward.
Our goal is to bring the proposal for a merged congregation to both congregations for their approval in May.

Institutional Logistics

In the background, we are engaging legal counsel for each congregation which will support the administrative, corporate, and financial merger.

Moving Forward Together

This journey isn’t just about governance and logistics—it’s about the joy of amplifying each other’s ministries, expanding our impact, and building something stronger and more vibrant than either of us could alone. We invite you to stay engaged, excited, and hopeful as we take these steps together. And please pray for the team members (listed below).
Got questions? Ideas? Bursting with enthusiasm? We want to hear from you! This is your church, our future, and God’s vision unfolding before us.

With faith, anticipation, and a whole lot of joy,
Rev. Wendy, Rev. Tom and The Merger Leadership Team

Bylaws Subcommittee: Rebecca Davidson (Chair), Meredith Allen, Jennifer Young, Josette Bridgement, Brendan St. Amant, Terri Bracy, Paul Roberts

Mission & Ministry Subcommittee: Erin Sennott (Chair), Dave Krooze, Merri Jones McKeown, Krista Snell, Brian Dimka, Sarah Medrsno-Palmer, Liz Douglass, Sue D’Arcy Fuller

Support: Tom Hathaway, Wendy Miller Olapade, Don Remick (consultant)