SEARCH AND CALL UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2008
The Search and Call Committee would like to extend its gratitude to the many church members and staff who have shared their time, experience and vision over the last few weeks. The Committee has met with staff, church leadership and retired pastors in prayerful conversation about where our church is at this moment, and in preparation to developing criteria for reading profiles. These conversations have been very helpful both because the church has gone through changes since the last Search and Call process, and because the makeup of this committee is different from before.

Presenters discussed a wide range of attributes they would like to see in our new pastors. We reflected on such skills as preaching and leading worship, pastoral care, an ability to communicate well, and to teach in a variety of settings as well as serving as a spiritual resource to help us move toward our goals. Another tool useful to this process is our Church Profile.

When the committee met with Rev. Michael Denton, he urged us to develop criteria for evaluating the many profiles we will be reviewing. We will continue to meet with staff and others for a short time longer to develop that criteria. We expect to begin reviewing pastoral profiles by the middle of November. Profiles keep coming in. We have nearly 60 already. And the committee is excited to begin examining them.

The committee is also grateful to the congregation for your positive feedback, prayers, and interest as this process continues.