July 1, 2024 Pastoral Update

Greetings! As we approach the July 4th holiday, your Council has been hard at work on the next steps in the process to call our new Senior Pastor! The Council has determined that we will use a two-step process for this transition - first a Transition Committee and then a Call Committee.

The Transition Committee will lead the listening and self-reflection phase of this process. The Transition Committee will be charged with gathering input from the congregation, identifying who we are and our vision for the future, and creating our ministry site profile. Pastor Peter Samuelson and Pastor Deb Bergstrand will support the Transition Committee’s work. Our goal is to have the Transition Committee begin its work in late July. We expect that their work will be completed in early 2025. More information about the Transition Committee and this process will be coming soon. 

Later, a different committee - the Call Committee - will be nominated by the congregation’s Nominating Committee and approved by the congregation, per our constitution. The Call Committee will be the group that assesses the candidates for senior pastor, using the ministry site profile and other work of the Transition Committee, and nominates a Senior Pastor for call by the congregation. 

We understand that we should expect the call process to take 12-18 months.

Calling our next Senior Pastor takes all of us!  While the Transition Committee and Call Committee will help move us through our transition, this is a process for our entire congregation and your participation is critical! This is a time to reflect on who we are and what is next for our congregation. It is a time to listen to one another so that we can identify and then call the type of Senior Pastor who can build on who we are today and unleash the possibilities that are within this wonderful community of faith for years to come! 

Together We Call!
Susan Kratz, Council President