Ministerial Search Moves Into High Gear!   

(Newsletter: Thursday, January 23, 2014)
 

by the Ministerial Search Committee

Your Ministerial Search Committee (MSC) is now in active conversation with the unusually large number of ministers who've applied for our position. This week, we've been conducting lengthy Skype interviews with our top choices. By this weekend, we hope to extend invitations to three applicants to be our "Pre-Candidates." Each "Pre-Candidate" will be invited to spend a weekend with the MSC, including preaching an entire service in a nearby church. The rules of the process are that only the MSC, not the entire congregation, will engage with the Pre-Candidates. The idea is to protect the relationship between the ministers and their existing congregations. These procedures also protect the discernment process from premature lobbying. So where do you come in? Well, you already have ... and you steadily will. Our discernment is based on your input. Your Listening Sessions, and your Survey, produced all the documents that introduced our church to potential applicants and described the minister we seek. Your input also guided us as we crafted our interview questions and as we reflect on what we're learning about the ministers.  In April, the "Candidate"--the one minister we ultimately recommend to you--will spend ten days with the congregation, including two Sunday services in our pulpit. Afterwards, it is--literally--your "call": You will decide, at a special congregational meeting, whether our church calls this Candidate or whether it does not. But we don't want you to take all this "on faith." This week, we are releasing to you the entire Congregational Survey (see link below). Next week, we'll do the same with the Congregational Record (our translation of the Survey data into a lengthy job posting). Your thoughtful and deep participation in the Listening Sessions and Survey shaped our understanding of your interests and preferences. We hope we are representing our congregation accurately and fully. We're grateful to you and we thank you. To see our Survey, click here.