INUUC’s Soul Weaving Circle received almost 40 survey responses giving opinions about whether we should stay at Woodland Center or move to Rockwood Community Center for this next year while we search for a long term church home. Responses were split almost 50:50 for those who preferred Rockwood and those who supported either location. Three preferred Woodland Center over Rockwood Community Center.

At our Soul Weaving Circle meeting we discussed the many thoughtful comments responders posted and weighed them with our own experiences in both locations, positive and negative. Neither location is perfect. Both have things we can work with and others that are harder.

The Soul Weaving Circle decided that the positives of Rockwood Community Center outweigh the negatives for now but that we need to be very intentional to address the concerns raised about distance from downtown/Northside, whiteness/lack of diversity in that area of Spokane, being in a retirement community (though with a lot of amazing UU folks!), and creating a kid-friendly space. We also can use money saved by not paying rent at Woodland Center to have lunches at Rockwood, which solves the ’no homemade food’ issue.

This quote, that someone posted in their survey, says it all to me: “It’s really a question of who we want to welcome and what we want to stand for.” Neither Rockwood nor Woodland is perfect, but we can try to find that perfect spot this next year while growing in community at Rockwood. Everyone needs to be involved in sharing their dreams for INUUC and helping it become a reality! Let’s invite our diverse friends, carpool more, and create a space that is welcoming and filled with love and joy!

Let’s grow!

With gratitude for this community, Ann-Scott Ettinger and the Soul Weaving Circle