From The Interim Senior Pastor

Wow!  What a difference a year makes!  As this is being written I am aware that I first visited among you and preached here about a year ago.  There were many matters to deal with right off the bat - the normal grief process a congregation goes through when a pastor departs, the anxiety of staff and leaders over what they should/should not do next, the fears and concerns of many that the previous pastor’s departure meant the end of all things that were meaningful to them so far as All Saints was concerned, questions of finances, mission, outreach, and so much more.
 
I must say that, in the ensuing time, we have covered a lot of ground together, and much of it may have seemed like an uphill climb to some of you.  Now, however, we can look back and see what has been achieved.  New leadership is on board in certain Council positions, new members have been welcomed on three occasions in the last year, several of our standing committees have increased in number of willing workers, baptisms seem to be an ongoing source of enjoyment as they continue to be scheduled.

In addition, a small group of extremely hard-working and dedicated individuals have taken the lead in the transition process, helping us reflect together on the history of the congregation, its’ norms and underlying values, and preparing the results of these reflections to assist the Call Committee.

Oh, yes, did I mention the Call Committee?  We have one recruited, trained and installed (April 18th), and ready to take on their work.  To them falls the exciting challenge of seeking information to accurately describe the congregation and its’ surrounding community for the Ministry Site Profile, to receive candidate profiles, to prayerfully consider the needs of the congregation so far as ordained leadership is concerned, to interview candidates and, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discern whether any of them should be sent forward in the process.

Ultimately, the Call Committee will bring a recommendation of a candidate to the Council.  And the Council, ultimately, will bring a recommendation of a candidate to YOU!  Yes, YOU!  Each voting member will be invited to attend a special congregational meeting at which the candidate receiving the recommendation of both the Call Committee and Council will be presented for your vote. You will most likely have had an opportunity to meet this person some weeks beforehand, possibly have heard him or her preach, and so this will be someone you have some knowledge about before you are asked to vote on the recommendation to offer the person a call.

Once that has taken place, the candidate receiving the call will have up to four weeks to prayerfully discern whether the Holy Spirit is, in fact, calling him or her to serve All Saints as lead pastor.

These are exciting times, dear friends.  They are also kind of scary-the winds of change never rest easily upon us, nor does the current economic and financial crisis in our midst make such tasks easier for any of us.  But be assured-as the Easter promise assures us-that Christ is with us, God’s Spirit is among us leading and guiding, inspiring and comforting, and so we consider ourselves blessed.

I close with one of my favorite passages from the Epistles:  Philippians 3:7-8 (NRSV) “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.  More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

It is important to keep this in mind-keeping the ‘Main Thing’ the main thing.  Over the centuries individual churches and groups of churches rise and fall.  Some continue, others pass into history.  None that continue have done so without being able to stay focused on their chief goal-to gain Christ is to gain all, and nothing else is really all that important.

Peace be with you this month

Pastor Mary