By John Durbin, Moderator
Greetings. I’m not sure the size of Judy Jondahl’s feet, but these shoes left to be filled are very, very large. Thank you, Judy, for your wonderful leadership during the tumultuous year of 2020.
I am humbled and honored to be serving as Moderator for 2021 and excited to share with you that we have a terrific Moderator Team in place. Jerry Lovell and Suzanne Boisclair will be serving as Vice-moderators.
Jerry and husband Mike Witt joined the church in 2018. Jerry retired as the CPA and CFO of a small business in So Cal. He has competed and won in international bowling tournaments, enjoys Mah Jong, and loves to volunteer. Although he comes to “church stuff” later in life, he is drawn to Church of the Palms not by what we say but by what we do.
Suzanne Boisclair and husband Brian moved to Sun City in 2016, and Suzanne joined our church in 2017. Suzanne retired after a long career as an occupational therapist specializing in hand therapy. She enjoys hiking, running, playing golf and just being outdoors. She and Brian (Bo) have recently taken up RVing and they love it. Suzanne comes from a Catholic background but has found her new home at Church of the Palms.
Pat and I joined Church of the Palms in 1998; were married here and had grandkids baptized here. I retired a couple of times — once as a small school district superintendent and once as regional director of the Alzheimer’s Association. Church of the Palms has become a large part of Pat’s and my lives.
Jerry, Suzanne, and I will work as a team and look forward to working with the Pastors, Church Council and all of you in adjusting our sails and moving boldly into the future.
Here are our priorities:
• Planning and implementing in-person worship services.
• Finishing (with the help of Judy Jondahl) a complete rewrite of the Church Constitution and Bylaws.
• Fully implementing the WISE Congregation for Mental Wellness Program
• Supporting and expanding the work of the Social Justice Action Team
We will be using this space in the Palm Leaf to keep you in the loop on our plans and actions moving forward. We take very seriously “Sharing God’s unconditional love, justice, and extravagant welcome.” Thank you for this opportunity!