Congregation Council

March 12, 2023 - Coffee with Council Notes

Estimated attendance: 40 people

1. Are we going to update the pictures for the bulletin board?
• Yes. We are going to update the pictures.
2. How often is the directory updated?
• This is the year for the update per Pastor Jami.
3. Has there ever been talk about a Saturday afternoon service?
• Years ago, we tried Saturday evening, but it fell to the way side because no one showed up.
• Per Pastor Jami, requires a lot of people to function from paid staff, including musicians, to volunteers.
• Sometimes there are weddings or other events at the church,
4. What's the procedure for a Pastor Call?
• The process for our Synod is a long process:
• Pastor announces retirement. The Bishop and Associate Bishop will meet with Council to discuss the transition process. This will happen after Pastor Jami is gone.
• The goal is to get an interim Pastor to be a bridge for the next call. This person is very transitional.
• The call process itself happens with the Church Council with the Bishop and the Bishop's staff.
• The Congregation fills out a lot of paperwork to get the process started.
• Council will appoint a Call Committee. This will be the group who looks over the paperwork and interviews for the new Pastor. There may be a Council member assigned on the Committee, but it is a confidential process due the sensitivity of the process.
• The Synod, the Bishop identifies the process with one or more candidates and gives the Committee the 1-3 candidates to choose whether or not it is a fit or not. They may decline, move forward with interviews, etc.
• If a candidate is moved forward, the Committee will go see the person preach and/or schedule time for this to occur.
• Eventually the candidate comes to the Council for an interview.
• From there, the Finance committee gets involved.
• If all of that works out, Council votes to accept the Pastor.
• From there, the candidate comes to preach a sermon and meet the congregation in fellowship.
• That day, the Congregation votes on the Pastor.
• Votes are taken at the first service and sealed
• Votes are taken at the second service and sealed
• Post services, they are counting and the results are communicated right away
• From here, the Pastor has to wrap up their previous work and transition.
• As a reminder, the Interim Pastor is critical during this process for leadership.
5. Regarding for Interim Pastor:
• Pastor Jami will be pushing for an Interim Pastor before she leaves.
• Interim Pastors are those like Pastor Jami who are retiring.
• It may be two Pastors filling the role.
• Our Congregation is busy and active. This has been communicated to the Bishop.
• There are a lot of Pastors coming in from outside of the area because we are such a dense area.
6. As part of the call process, is there a chance for to see them interact with our youth?
• This is an important thing for the Council to discuss as a focus.
• When the Committee goes to see the candidate preach, see how they interact with the kids.
• The day of the Trial sermon, you want the candidate to do a trial Children's Message.
• Confirmation and Youth Group gather at a reception.
• Maybe integrate them into the younger grades Sunday School Service.