by Jim Harper, Co-Chair of the Search Committee
The Search Committee for a permanent, settled minister is celebrating the emergence of high levels of agreement from across the congregation—including the children. The committee is also striking a gymnastic pose after nailing the landing on the minister’s job description.
UCG children drew pictures to represent our future minister. One by Devin says, “funny, loving fun,” and another drawing shows four dragons with one saying, “Hi, do you want a hug?” The four dragon quadrants are labeled as Kind, Generous, Happy, and Funny. These pictures show a consensus for a minister with a good sense of humor.
As for the job description, it features a co-ministry model that has been approved by CMRB and reviewed by Church Council. This document will become part of the official Church Profile that announces the job posting and describes our congregation. We are on track to post this profile by April.
Considering recent feedback from the congregation, the job description was created collaboratively by Rev. Dr. Talia Raymond, Jenny Hill (representing human resources), Beth Hinrichs (representing Congregational Ministry Review Board), and Jeremy Archer from the Search Committee.
For more updates, review the presentation from the February 15 Sunday seminar.
For those with questions about the co-ministry model, Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper will lead two question and answer sessions on the co-ministry model and the search process and answer questions that came up during the church council meeting on February 19. Concerns were raised about accountability processes in that model and how it interacts with our revised grievance process. Join us at either 9 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 8. The sessions are designed to be informational and interesting and especially useful to people who enjoy governance.