Associate Pastor Call Committee:
Full Steam Ahead!
Has there been a dull moment at Faith in the last 10 years? I’m hard pressed to think of one!
This past decade or so has been a time of challenge driven by change for our church, what with pastoral and staff leadership coming and going, “major projects” getting under way one after the other, 55 N. Park being transformed, and much, much more…much of it under the cloud of Covid-19.
And what has been the result? A congregation that has confirmed what it has always known about itself: Challenge us, and we will succeed. We will come out better for it on the other end. And we have God to thank for our determination and fortitude, because through it all He is by our side, reassuring us that “you’ve got this.”
So, I’m here to update you on what is happening with regard to the latest challenge we are faced with—filling the void left by the departure of Pr. Joe Yucha. And the news is all good!
This past decade or so has been a time of challenge driven by change for our church, what with pastoral and staff leadership coming and going, “major projects” getting under way one after the other, 55 N. Park being transformed, and much, much more…much of it under the cloud of Covid-19.
And what has been the result? A congregation that has confirmed what it has always known about itself: Challenge us, and we will succeed. We will come out better for it on the other end. And we have God to thank for our determination and fortitude, because through it all He is by our side, reassuring us that “you’ve got this.”
So, I’m here to update you on what is happening with regard to the latest challenge we are faced with—filling the void left by the departure of Pr. Joe Yucha. And the news is all good!
Meet Your Call Committee
At the July Church Council meeting, the members of the Call Committee were approved. I am honored, excited, and a tad wistful to have been chosen as the one to chair this wonderful group of members from our congregation—wistful in the sense that, having served on Pr. Joe’s Intern Committee many years ago, I am now part of the committee seeking his replacement!
Members of our Faith family who have agreed to join me in this endeavor are Bob Hawkinson, Paula Ortmann, Dave Jenz, Kristin Schwallie, Kathy Dibadj (alternate member), and Jack Bair (student member). As a group, we are motivated by the challenge before us—to fill the awfully big shoes of Pr. Joe—and determined to get the job done effectively, efficiently, and expediently. We know finding the right fit for Faith’s associate pastor is of the utmost importance to you, the members of Faith, and also to the Council, Pr. Shelly, and the staff, so we—the committee—are counting on your input, interest, and involvement to lift us up during this undertaking.
At the July Church Council meeting, the members of the Call Committee were approved. I am honored, excited, and a tad wistful to have been chosen as the one to chair this wonderful group of members from our congregation—wistful in the sense that, having served on Pr. Joe’s Intern Committee many years ago, I am now part of the committee seeking his replacement!
Members of our Faith family who have agreed to join me in this endeavor are Bob Hawkinson, Paula Ortmann, Dave Jenz, Kristin Schwallie, Kathy Dibadj (alternate member), and Jack Bair (student member). As a group, we are motivated by the challenge before us—to fill the awfully big shoes of Pr. Joe—and determined to get the job done effectively, efficiently, and expediently. We know finding the right fit for Faith’s associate pastor is of the utmost importance to you, the members of Faith, and also to the Council, Pr. Shelly, and the staff, so we—the committee—are counting on your input, interest, and involvement to lift us up during this undertaking.
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The Congregation’s Role
To begin, please plan to participate in one of the upcoming Listening Sessions to ask questions, share your thoughts, and hear what your fellow Faith members are thinking and feeling about calling our next associate pastor. It is important to understand that during this process, the committee will not just be interviewing candidates, the candidates will be interviewing us! One of the ways they learn about Faith and decide whether they even want to interview to be our associate pastor is through a detailed description of Faith Church called the Ministry Site Profile, or MSP. The committee, Pr. Shelly, and I are in process of developing this important document right now, using the MSP template that was developed when Pr. Shelly was called.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for the committee to hear from the Faith membership about what is most important to us at Faith, so we can create an MSP that presents the clearest picture possible for associate pastor candidates.
Update on Work Done so Far
As noted, work is already under way by the committee with support from Pr. Shelly. Revisions to the MSP are being made for the committee to review within the next couple of weeks. Once the MSP is completed, it will be sent to the Rev. Sunitha Mortha, Associate to the Bishop, at the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA, who will use the MSP to identify associate pastor candidates from around the country who “fit” Faith’s profile. Not long after that, the committee will receive the first set of 3-5 candidates to evaluate and potentially interview.
Projected Timeline
I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, because it’s impossible to promise that the ideal candidate will be identified, called, and in place by a particular time. According to Pr. Sunitha, calling a pastor can take six months to a year; however, in her experience six months is more the norm. A goal, but not a hill to die on, would be to call our associate pastor by the Congregation Meeting at the end of January. It’s good to have a goal, but the most important thing will be finding the best person for the position, even if the work extends beyond January.
Odds and Ends
A question that has come up on a couple of occasions already concerns how to recommend a potential associate pastor candidate if you think you might know someone. If you have a name you’d like to recommend, please discreetly share the pastor’s name and some additional information about him/her with me and Pr. Shelly. We will make sure to provide the pastor’s information in confidence to Pr. Sunitha.
My apologies for this lengthy message! And please, never hesitate to reach out to me or the committee members as we all work together to identify the best candidate possible to be our next associate pastor at Faith.
Together in Christ,
Chris Bettin,
Call Committee Chair
cjbettin@gmail.com
To begin, please plan to participate in one of the upcoming Listening Sessions to ask questions, share your thoughts, and hear what your fellow Faith members are thinking and feeling about calling our next associate pastor. It is important to understand that during this process, the committee will not just be interviewing candidates, the candidates will be interviewing us! One of the ways they learn about Faith and decide whether they even want to interview to be our associate pastor is through a detailed description of Faith Church called the Ministry Site Profile, or MSP. The committee, Pr. Shelly, and I are in process of developing this important document right now, using the MSP template that was developed when Pr. Shelly was called.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for the committee to hear from the Faith membership about what is most important to us at Faith, so we can create an MSP that presents the clearest picture possible for associate pastor candidates.
Update on Work Done so Far
As noted, work is already under way by the committee with support from Pr. Shelly. Revisions to the MSP are being made for the committee to review within the next couple of weeks. Once the MSP is completed, it will be sent to the Rev. Sunitha Mortha, Associate to the Bishop, at the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA, who will use the MSP to identify associate pastor candidates from around the country who “fit” Faith’s profile. Not long after that, the committee will receive the first set of 3-5 candidates to evaluate and potentially interview.
Projected Timeline
I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, because it’s impossible to promise that the ideal candidate will be identified, called, and in place by a particular time. According to Pr. Sunitha, calling a pastor can take six months to a year; however, in her experience six months is more the norm. A goal, but not a hill to die on, would be to call our associate pastor by the Congregation Meeting at the end of January. It’s good to have a goal, but the most important thing will be finding the best person for the position, even if the work extends beyond January.
Odds and Ends
A question that has come up on a couple of occasions already concerns how to recommend a potential associate pastor candidate if you think you might know someone. If you have a name you’d like to recommend, please discreetly share the pastor’s name and some additional information about him/her with me and Pr. Shelly. We will make sure to provide the pastor’s information in confidence to Pr. Sunitha.
My apologies for this lengthy message! And please, never hesitate to reach out to me or the committee members as we all work together to identify the best candidate possible to be our next associate pastor at Faith.
Together in Christ,
Chris Bettin,
Call Committee Chair
cjbettin@gmail.com