Choosing our Ministerial Search Committee

The board is considering a number of issues right now, including how we will carry out interim ministry with the departure of Rev. Helen Carroll and the process of choosing our next settled minister. Regardless of how we decide to carry out interim ministry, the process of selecting our next minister is essentially the same.  One of the first steps is to choose our Ministerial Search Committee.

Our bylaws call for the Ministerial Search Committee to have no fewer than six members elected by the Fellowship plus one Board member appointed by the Board. We are planning on a January Congregational Meeting for the purpose of electing these six members of the Fellowship. The process for choosing candidates for the Search Committee that we will use comes highly recommended.

Each member of the Congregation will be called by a member of the Board over the next several weeks, and asked the following three questions:
1. Please name three people (members) of the congregation that you would trust to help select our next settled minister.
2. What do you believe that we need to do as a congregation before we are ready to call our next settled minister?
3. Is there anything else that you would like the board to know at this time?

From your responses to the first question, the Board will recommend a list of candidates for the committee to the Congregation for election at the January meeting. Your responses to the other two questions will help us as we move forward. Please wait until we call to give us your answers, but please do think about your answers to the above questions in the meantime; that will help save time on our calls (we are looking at about 47 calls each at this point!).

Talk to the Board before our Meetings: Next Board Meeting November 14, 2018

You are invited to come talk to us about your ideas and concerns. We plan on being available for informal discussion 30 minutes before each meeting starts from now on, i.e., at 6pm. The board meeting will then start at 6:30pm; you are welcome to stay for the board meeting with the understanding that sometimes the board needs to go into Executive Session to discuss confidential matters.

Nils Pedersen
President, Board of Trustees