Community Church

[Blogger's note: My apologies for getting a bit off schedule. Emails have been flying so fast these last few days that it's hard to tell what is the final draft of things! This is from this week's issue of the CC. There are two sections, one from the Call Committee and one from Council.]

CALL COMMITTEE UPDATE

In recommending Pastor Jay M. Carlson to the Council for Holy Trinity's next lead pastor, the Call Committee officially completes its responsibilities.

It has been a profound honor to represent this remarkable congregation in the call process. Yet we were well aware that you were with us each step of the way. You were there through your input into the COMPASS Report, through your presence at each committee meeting, through your representation on Council, through your advocacy, through extended conversations -- and especially through prayers and worship together.

We have had the rare opportunity to meet many notable pastors, learn about ministry in other contexts, and grow in ways unforeseen. Above all, we trust that at the heart of this recommendation God's desire for ministry in this community was led by the Holy Spirit -- and that the Spirit will continue to move us forward into Holy Trinity's next chapter.

"O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" (ELW)

--Holy Trinity Call Committee:
Cliff Brown, Mike Mann, Korla Masters,
Lynda Nordholm, John Sulzbach, Dawn Wieczorek

MOVING FORWARD WITH CALLING OUR NEXT PASTOR

On Saturday, April 5th, the Church Council met in special session to receive the name of the candidate being recommended by the Call Committee to be our next pastor. Last Thursday evening, April 10th, at a second special meeting, the Council met the candidate. Following that meeting the council voted unanimously (16-0) to forward that recommendation to the congregation.

Accordingly, the congregation will meet in special session on Sunday, May 4th -- following the second service at 12:30pm -- to act on the recommendation that the Rev. Jay M. Carlson be called to serve as pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Pastor Carlson is currently the pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Vincennes, Indiana. He is a native of Minnesota having grown up in Wilmar and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He graduated from Luther Seminary in 2003 and served one year as pastoral assistant at Peace Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids before moving to Vincennes, where he is in his fourth year as solo pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran.

A letter will be sent to each member of the congregation within the next ten days with a more detailed autobiography of Pastor Carlson and an invitation to meet and greet him on Saturday, May 3rd from 2:00-4:00pm and/or the morning of Sunday, May 4th.

--Randy Nelson and Lunda Jury,
on behalf of the Church Council

Community Church

"Come Holy Spirit, descend on us, descend on us. We gather here in Jesus' name."

Holding this prayer in our hearts from the Lenten journey, we gather on the Monday following Easter with the assurance that the Holy Spirit is among us as we commend ourselves to open deliberation while reaching for consensus on recommendation of our next lead pastor.

As we do so, consider again the worthy words of our Council President Randy Nelson:

"A successful call process is a combination of dedicated diligent work and the movement of the Holy
Spirit. It is about matching gifts of a servant of God with the needs and opportunities presented by a congregation. The result is a call. A call is above all an invitation and a commitment to a relationship. It is not finally a job -- although there is work that will be done. It is not finally about a contract --although there is obligation and accountability on the part of both congregation and pastor. It is not about finding the perfect person -- there is no perfect person for this or any call, just as there is no perfect congregation, not even Holy Trinity. No, it is a call -- a venture in faith that reflects discernment, judgment, and the conviction that God is at work in the process through prayer, hard work, and the Holy Spirit."

We offer heartfelt thanks to our congregation for sustaining us through your prayers, your words of support and encouragement, and for your presence with us in this journey.

Lynda Nordholm, on behalf of the Call Committee

Community Church

Call Committee Update (Feb 25)

In the coming week we will set about hearing the first of our final candidates preach and then sit down together for a more in-depth conversation. It is certain that very intentional questions and specific concerns from every perspective will be at the heart of this discussion.

There is no doubt that this stage of the call process brings a sense of trepidation – as there is much at stake as we narrow our search. Yet as the process advances, we realize more clearly and rely more heavily on the fact that it is not of our own accord – but that it is undeniably being driven by God’s Spirit. It is mutually daunting responsibility and awesome pleasure.

Your words of support and encouragement – and your continued prayers --sustain us all.

Community Church

Call Committee Update (Feb 18)

This chapter in the call process of moving beyond the initial stage of interviews carries with it a real sense of excitement, while also bittersweet. We have been enriched by meeting candidates with considerable talents that dovetail with the ministry of Holy Trinity, yet in the course of narrowing the field of candidates for further consideration, are obliged to release from the process pastors with great depth and passion for ministry.

With the assurance that each pastor chosen for final interviews is formidably matched with Holy Trinity’s ministry, we set about the task of discerning which is best suited. In this time before hearing candidates preach at the end of February and early March, we continue to fine-tune questions for our second conversations to follow.

Community Church

Call Committee Update

This past Saturday we met in conversation with the fourth candidate in the initial stage of interviews, finding for the most part increasing confidence in the pool of candidates from which we will choose our next lead pastor. We also reviewed additional mobility papers and made decisions about what we believe to be the final candidates for the first round of interviews. At this time we know of three more candidates we plan to interview during January, which will complete the first round of interviews. Candidates we have selected to interview are inclusive of gender and age, and cover a wide range of experiences.

Lynda Nordholm, on behalf of the Call Committee

Community Church

Call Committee Update (December 17, 2007)

Waiting surrounds us during Advent – and the call process is no exception to this. We are waiting – for information on candidates, -- for response from candidates -- in anticipation of interviews. And we wait together as a congregation.

In her book, “Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting”, Holly Whitcomb (a UCC minister) writes: “When we face an extended period of waiting, we have an opportunity to engage in a radical kind of patience that can take us beyond surviving -- to thriving. We can partner with the waiting rather than treat it as the enemy. We can involve ourselves in an active waiting that opens doors, creates opportunities, and stretches our minds, bodies, and souls. While waiting may necessitate a certain powerlessness, this does not mean giving up intelligence, action, and hope. Active waiting teaches us to trust that each small step is part of a larger process – a process in which we can participate with steady determination and lively expectation.”

Waiting together with steady determination and lively expectation as we look forward to interviews in January.

Lynda Nordholm, on behalf of the Call Committee

Community Church

Call Committee Update (December 10, 2007)

Our congregation is experiencing Advent in a new way this year – as we eagerly wait for word of a new pastor, and ponder just how the gifts and skills of this person will integrate with and offer new light to the mission and vision that is Holy Trinity.

A sense of excitement is bubbling as we look forward to interviews with four candidates the first weeks of January – and the conversations we will have together. More candidates are being contacted by the synod, while names from national sources continue to come our way.

Lynda Nordholm, on behalf of the Call Committee