A Presbyterian pastoral search can seem a long and winding road at times, with several teams and committees involved over a period of many months. The present Visioning Team headed by Heidi Wold and Jarrod Judge are charged with taking the church through a mission study process that includes meeting with members, surveying the congregation, and drafting a mission study that will give a sense of what kind of church First Pres. is being called to be in the years ahead. This study will be drafted early this summer, with a report to the Session planned for July. As a Presbyterian church, we affirm the wider church’s wisdom that having clarity of direction and calling is very helpful in insuring a good match with the new senior pastor.

Once the Session has reviewed and approved the mission study, this will be shared with the congregation, probably at the annual meeting in August. The church’s nominating committee (to be elected at a congregational meeting on June 8th) will be charged with putting together a slate of names of those who will serve as the pastoral search committee (called the PNC, Pastoral Nominating committee).

The PNC will then draft a church form, the CIF (church information form), drawing on the earlier mission study document drafted by the Visioning Team. This CIF form will give a picture of our church’s programs, faith and fellowship, service and mission, that will be helpful to prospective pastor candidates as they consider serving here. The CIF will be shared with the regional Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry, then forwarded to the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s headquarters in Louisville. There, the vocations staff will match criteria that our church needs with the profiles of ministers offering similar skills. They will send these ministers’ profiles to our search committee in Salem. Also, ministers will be able to apply directly to our search committee. Members of the church will also be encouraged to share with the search committee names of ministers they might want to suggest that the committee consider. Please keep the Visioning Team in your prayers as their work toward the mission study continues and God leads us through the next stretch of road.

The Visioning Team is: Heidi Wold and Jarrod Judge, co-chairs, Cynthia Currin, Noble Deckard, Jennifer Hylton, Heidi Keller, Jane Lamb, Bill Mainwaring, and John Mistkawi.

http://www.salemfirstpres.org/msgs/pp080413pf.htm

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