Dear Church Family, This week's e-note will cover the following two topics: Introduction to SLI Chancel Choir Update Introduction to SLI: A lot of people at BUMC have asked me, "Who is SLI and what will their presence mean to our church?" SLI (Spiritual Leadership Inc.) is our new coaching/consulting team. The Church Council contracted with SLI before I arrived (but with my blessing) to walk with us for one year as we clarify our vision and make plans for our future. An anonymous donor paid our SLI fee, so no church monies were used to fund this process. SLI has worked with many large UMC churches and institutions with great results. Beginning in September, SLI will partner with BUMC for one year. Most of their work will be done with a group of twelve people, both staff and lay, who are listed below. SLI (not BUMC) chose these twelve people from a list of nominations that came from the Church Council. In a nutshell, SLI will lead us through the following five-step process. First, SLI will work on building a TEAM. The twelve SLI members will spend many hours building trust and becoming a team. Second, SLI will help us better understand our CONTEXT. We'll spend time processing information about our church, our congregational culture, and