Church profile nearing completion

The following update was shared at the Congregational Meeting on Nov. 20, 2016.

The Pastoral Search Committee has been diligently working on the written profile that will provide the potential candidates a summary of who we are as a community and a church. In partnership with the congregation through the guided conversations this summer, and the all-church survey, members of the committee have taken the answers from 37 questions (with many of the questions having 4-5 sub-questions) and created the first draft of an organized narrative with pictures highlighting our life together as a church. When reviewing this draft, the group marveled in the details that spoke to the mission-mindedness of our congregation and how our building is used in so many ways for both our activities and to support our partners in the community.

The Pastoral Search Committee has two meetings scheduled in early December and our goal is to finish our work on the church profile document so it can then be submitted to our UCC Associate Conference Minister, the Rev. Rick Wagner. With the busy Christmas and New Years holiday schedule now here, we don’t expect feedback from Rick until sometime in January. Based on his help and feedback, there could be additional work necessary before the profile document will be ready for congregational review. However, the PSC is hopeful we can have a final profile ready by mid-January for our members to review and give their feedback to the search committee about the profile.

If there are no major changes necessary and we are able to stay on this anticipated timeline, it’s expected we can formally post the position for our new pastor online with the United Church of Christ Employment Opportunities site at the end of January or first part of February. This will be a momentous step in our journey! The search committee is as anxious and excited as everyone else, but we’ve been strongly advised not to hurry at the expense of not finding the right person. As we continue to move forward, we ask for your prayers not only for our work still ahead but also for potential candidates, as they have some major decisions to make in the next few months about career, family, moving, and their own journey.

– Carol Holm and Kari Willey (for the Pastoral Search Committee, including Jenica Domanico, Joe Vance, Pat Bohman, Mike Bradbury, Margot Olsen)