On January 22, the Church Vitality and Discernment Team gathered for a day of shared listening, reflection, and creativity across the Presbytery of the Highlands. It was a genuinely encouraging and energizing day, full of thoughtful conversation, imagination, and shared purpose.

We began grounded in Scripture, dwelling together in Luke 6:46–49, where Jesus speaks of foundations that can withstand the flood. As we reflected on that text, one guiding question stayed with us throughout the day: What does your foundation say? That question invited honesty, but it also opened space for hope, reminding us that strong foundations are still being built and rediscovered.

We did not spend the day only talking. We built. Using LEGO bricks, participants created physical representations of the congregational stories we encounter across the presbytery. There were boats navigating water, islands of stability, towers and landmarks, gathering spaces, barriers, bridges, and figures standing together in community. As we placed these worlds side by side, patterns emerged. The building brought energy and joy into the room and helped us see both challenges and possibilities with fresh eyes.

Through these shared structures, familiar realities took shape. Congregations navigating change. Churches holding deep history while discerning new direction. Communities discovering that connection is shaped by shared purpose and relationship as much as by geography. Naming these realities together felt grounding and reassuring, reminding us that these experiences are shared across the presbytery.