SEARCH AND CALL COMMITTEE ENTERS THE QUARTER FINALS
 

On Tuesday, January 13, Search and Call committee got from 60 profiles down to 10 candidates who we will be telephoning. We also established a set of questions to ask all candidates. The rest of January will be spent on phase 3 - making phone calls, each one taking up to 1.5 hours. (Phase one was interviewing staff, church leadership and retired pastors; phase two was the reading.) Reading profiles has also included reading and listening to sermons over the internet. Many of us did not imagine we would be hearing 4-8 sermons a week. (Thank you, FCCB pastors, for the enlightening, enjoyable sermons you preach.)

This is an exciting time. We have read profiles of very highly qualified and appealing Lead Pastors, and now we get to hear their voices. We continue to take the process very seriously, feeling a little overwhelmed with the magnitude of the task, but we also feel honored to have been given this commission and to represent the congregational interests.

One Circle, meeting Tuesday the 6th, heard our laughter and our birthday song for George Lamb. We want to let you know that the Spirit is truly in action in the Mt. Baker Room each Tuesday, and while that Spirit inspires diligence, It also has a sense of humor. That sense of humor is one of the many, many qualities we are looking for in a Lead Pastor.

This is the time of year, in the Bleak Midwinter, when many of us get impatient for things to come … like spring, sunshine, longer daylight - and new pastors. But Search and Call appreciates the prayerful patience shown by members of the church as we continue the process. We believe you will be pleased with the quality of candidates we are finding; and we are grateful to those who express their support, concerns, or questions.

May God continue to grant us clarity in the Search.