Dear Church~
Have you heard all the talk in the media lately about the mounting evidence for climate change? Some are sounding the alarm, even hitting the panic button. While other, somewhat calmer voices, are assuring us that periodic storms and summer drought are merely short term weather events. So far, they say, our basic climate is changing only slightly, showing a slight warming pattern. There is still time to act wisely.
We who have been working on your transition task force couldn't help but see some parallels between this climate debate and our time of transition. Since hearing of Pastor Linda's departure for a new call, a few members of the OSLC faith family started feeling a bit alarmed, even somewhat panicky over all the change we find ourselves facing.
We want to assure you that what we are experiencing are short term challenges. In fact our long term mission and program remains on track and is showing a trend toward even greater warmth and friendliness as members live, work, worship and celebrate together.
Meanwhile, your transition task force members are aware of the concerns you may have about the process in place. We want you to know we have been diligent in our work and are making good progress. To that end, we offer the brief report below.
Our Mission/Vision Team has received feedback focusing on our mission statement, insuring that our vision and purpose remains clear. Your comments are appreciated and have been carefully reviewed. The team is also inviting you to respond to one other, somewhat broader, survey instrument they are attaching to the end of this note.
The Staffing Team has analyzed models suggesting the organizational layout for our church administration and sought input from other congregations in order to offer the most effective delivery of church programs and services. Job descriptions have been reviewed and staff interviews will be conducted in the coming weeks, generating more data to give direction in our search for a new Senior Pastor.
You have already seen the posters, pictures, and timeline developed by the Self Study Team, offering a perspective of the rich history of our congregation. Members have also done research generating demographic information that will be helpful in planning for the growth potential of our congregation.
All of this work/information will be condensed into the official synod Ministry Site Profile. This document will be completed and presented to our church board in May and offered for comment to the congregation by the end of that month before it is approved. The Site Profile along with all of the background work that has been done, will be a key resource for the Call Committee when they begin their search for our new Senior Pastor in early summer.
Please continue to offer prayerful support for all of the ongoing work of task force members, and plan on participating in all the information gathering activities the task force members will continue to offer.
See you in church!
Paul Renslo
Transition Task Force Co-Chair
PLEASE TAKE 5-10 MINUTES TO PROVIDE YOUR VERY IMPORTANT INPUTTo give you another opportunity for your input, the Task Force is asking you to respond to a short survey. Results of this survey will be presented in communications later this month.
Please click the link below to access the survey:
(If the link doesn't work, please copy/paste the link above directly into your Internet browser.)
