Dear Members,

The Session has called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday, September 26^th, directly following the worship service, in order to recommend changes to our current leadership structure. In 2018, we adjusted the structure of our Deacon Committees; but since then, we have recognized the need to make other slight adjustments, as well as align our Session to match with these changes. Below are the proposed changes:

•  If approved, the Session will move from three classes of three Ruling Elders in each class to three classes of two Ruling Elders in each class. There will be six Ruling Elders regularly serving on the Session instead of nine.

• If approved, the Deacon Committees’ structure will change from eight Deacon Committees to nine committees. The Congregational Care Deacon role will be divided into two separate roles. One role will oversee the Care Team and will retain the title of “Congregational Care Deacon”. The other role will be focused on Life Group care and formation and be titled “Life Group Deacon". The Deacons will retain the current rotation of three classes of three Deacons in each class. The other seven Deacon Committees are listed as follows: Building & Grounds, Children’s Ministry, Finance, Missions & Outreach, Prayer, Worship Arts, and Youth Ministry.

As a Session, we believe these changes to our structure will allow the Session to remain committed to the care and oversight of our faith family while encouraging the ministry work to be carried out on an ongoing basis by our Deacons and staff. We believe in this season of our church life, as we look to God’s leading to know Christ and make him known, that this creates the best balance of prayerful discernment and intentional action for our faith family.

Please join us for the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, September 26^th. If you would like to join us for this meeting via Zoom, please respond to this email or contact us at the email address below by Thursday, September 23^rd, to receive a link to the meeting. If you have any questions related to these proposed changes, please contact us through our email address at session@epclongview.org or any of us can be reached individually. You will find our personal contact information in the church directory.

In Christ,

The Longview EPC Session

Doug Ashley, Buck Birdsong, Cindy Brelsford, Kathy Diamond, Shawn Frazier (Clerk), Shelley Kral, Michael McMahon, Matt Yost, and Lisca Van Zyl