By Rev. Dr. Robert Maddox, Acting Senior Pastor
Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ
October , 2011
On Sunday morning, October 2, 2011 the congregation, church staff and I entered into yet another phase of our interim process as we move steadily toward the call and arrival of a new Senior Minister.
The final report of the Interim Working Team is now online (member password required).
We look forward to your participation with us for both the worship service and the forum on the search and call process this Sunday, April 10. The service will include a litany of installation for the Pastoral Search Committee. John Deckenback, Central Atlantic Conference Minister, will preach and, at 11:30, he will lead the search and call process forum for the entire congregation.
We would like for you to know a little more about the organization of our committee. In addition to the important general responsibilities of every PSC member, each of the nine members of the Pastoral Search Committee has accepted a specific leadership role on the PSC.
Roles Within the Pastoral Search Committee
The Pastoral Search Committee met for the second time this Tuesday, March 29. We reviewed a suggested covenant from the UCC manual on Search and Call, and agreed to the following statement. The covenant will serve as a prayerful reminder of our ongoing work and an important part of the PSC installation on April 10. It focuses on our relationship and promises to the wider Westmoreland community. The “you” mentioned is Westmoreland.
The Covenant of Westmoreland’s Pastoral Search Committee
We who serve on the Pastoral Search Committee for Westmoreland congregational UCC promise to perform faithfully the vital task of searching for a new Senior Minister. We pledge, with God’s guidance and your prayers, to be open to the Holy Spirit in all we do, say and decide. We will endeavor:
We look forward to Sunday, April 10, at 10:00 a.m. worship when Westmoreland will celebrate a litany of installation for the PSC. John Deckenback, the Central Atlantic Conference Minister, will be with us to preach and to lead a forum, at 11:30 a.m. for the entire congregation on the Search and Call process for our next Senior Minister. We hope everyone will attend both worship and the forum following worship on April 10!
The nomination process for the Pastoral Search Committee yielded a strong, deep and varied pool of willing Westmorelanders. The Interim Working Team (IWT) received 119 nominations of 57 individuals from the Westmoreland Church community. Of this group, 20 individuals agreed to accept the nomination (some individuals were nominated without being first asked). This large pool of qualified individuals allowed the IWT to recommend a group of nine members that represents the diversity of our congregation. The recommended group possesses a variety of experiences, talents, attributes, and abilities.
The high caliber of the nominees presented a welcome challenge to the IWT as how to select a group of nine. As you can see in the range of individuals listed below, we put together a group that is balanced in terms of age, gender and length of membership at Westmoreland. We were mindful of selecting a group of individuals that included the next generation of Westmorelanders and so have included individuals who are relatively new to the church and several who are in a younger age category. We also recognized the importance of including some individuals familiar with the financial history and concerns of the church. We strove to include members from the major programmatic offerings and sectors of the church. It is important to be aware that a Senior Minister considering a call at Westmoreland will both be interviewed by the Search Committee and will interview the committee about the Church. We are confident that this group will both work faithfully and diligently as discerners in the search process and present the full life of our Church to the prospective new Senior Minister.
We are deeply grateful for the willingness of all 20 members of the church who agreed to serve if called by the congregation. The vitality of Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ rests in the many individuals who come together as one body to serve their faith community.
The following nine nominees were recommended by the Interim Working Team, approved by the Executive Committee on Wednesday evening, February 23, and will be nominated by the Executive Committee for election at this Sunday’s congregational meeting following worship.* A brief statement by each of the nominees follows below the jump. We pray for God’s wisdom and care as we discern together those who will serve us in this important work.
*Only members and associate members of Westmoreland present at the called congregational meeting are eligible to vote. Nominations may be made from the floor. Nominees must be willing to serve. You may vote on Sunday for no more than 9 members. Ballots with more than nine will be invalid. Childcare will be provided at the meeting.
We have added an easy-to-use nomination form to our website. Guidelines for nominees can be found here. To be considered for the ballot submitted by the Executive Committee, submit names and skills by Sunday, February 13th. NOTE. THIS FORM IS NO LONGER ACTIVE.
Take time to prayerfully consider who might be a faithful member of the Pastoral Search Committee (PSC). This committee of nine Westmoreland members will suggest a candidate for our next Senior Minister. What are the requirements? Pick up a copy of the guidelines in the church office or online at http://westmorelanducc.org/g-info/transition/PSC_Guidelines.pdf. To be considered for the ballot submitted by Executive Committee, submit names and skills to church office, by completing this online form or by email (see guidelines for requested information) to interim@westmorelanducc.org by February 13. Nominations from the floor will be accepted. We will vote for the PSC on February 27 at a special congregational meeting.
You are an important member or friend to Westmoreland. God is calling you and all of us to this time of interim ministry leading to a new called Senior Minister. The Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) is a particular group charged with the specific work of seeking a new pastor. Perhaps you know of someone who might carefully and prayerfully serve on that committee.
Please review the qualities and skills asked of members on the committee. Pray about it. Who comes to your mind and heart? You are invited to submit as many nominees for the PSC as you wish. Along with their names, let us know how they express the qualities, attributes, and skills listed below. You may also nominate yourself. Before submitting a name, you might wish to check with the person to assure that she or he is willing to serve on the PSC. (Nomination forms available in church office.)
By February 13, please submit your nominations in the church offering plate or place in the “PSC Nominations” box in the church office. You may also submit them electronically by email to interim@westmorelanducc.org.
Pastoral Search Committee: Qualities, Attributes, and Skills
The personal qualities, attributes, and skills to consider in selecting a PSC member include:
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The Interim Working Group will guide an Advent devotional in many of the December meetings of Westmoreland’s boards and committees. The time is meant to introduce members of the Interim Working Team to the boards and to invite prayer for the interim time, and to begin listening to the hopes and concerns of boards.
Members of the Interim Working Group will also send an Advent/Christmas card to members and friends of Westmoreland that provides a devotion at home, welcomes prayers for the congregation, and invites participation in Westmoreland’s Christmas Eve services.
After church on November 7, we held congregational round table conversations in which members of the team led the table groups through a careful process. We began with reflecting on a prayer/poem by Carlo Carretto. Sid Fowler described the overall interim process with Liz Fritsch, Mary Grossnick, and Pierre Toureille offering their own perspectives on interim ministry. Table conversations then recorded hopes for the church and suggestions of people to whom we need to listen during the interim time. Sid Fowler and Pierre Toureille also answered questions about the interim process itself.