Dear Friends in Christ,
An important moment during our interim time is coming soon: publication of the church profile by the Designated-Pastor Search Committee. It is, especially for the members of the Search Committee, an exciting moment. They’ve worked long and hard to prepare a profile that represents your history and current qualities as a congregation accurately. They deserve much thanks and prayer as they enter into a new phase of the search process: receiving and reading prospective pastors’ profiles, interviewing, and – ultimately – discerning a recommended candidate for your consideration and vote.
This moment marks a transition for me, as well, in my ministry amongst you. Once the profile is released I will no longer attend Search Committee meetings or directly support its work. A NH Conference UCC Minister will be responsible for this. So, I’ll have more time for other work. How will I spend it? I plan to turn my attention to other tasks we’ve identified. Two of the most important are the VLT’s envisioning ways of reaching out into the community and the Stewardship Team’s discerning ways to increase budgeted revenue.
The first task, reaching out, is important because if a church wants to grow with new people today, it cannot simply be a welcoming congregation whose members sit around waiting for people to walk through the door; it must become a pro-active, inviting congregation in which members build relationships with people outside the church walls and share the good news of what’s going on inside, as well as outside, its walls.
The second task, increasing income, is important because if a church wants to support a staff and an older building it must have sufficient revenue to do so. And when, as is the case here, more than 70% of the pledged income comes from those aged 60 and older, the viability of maintaining current forms and levels of ministry may be at risk.
What can you do to help? Pray for this church, pray for its leaders, pray for their stewardship of its well-being, and participate in the conversations that are sure to come as leaders share new ideas they deem worth trying!
Blessings of Faith in Christ and Faithful Stewardship of Christ’s Church,
Pastor Ed