Ministerial Search Update
August 25, 2010
Your ministerial search committee is off and running! We began to meet in June and have had a few meetings and a retreat since then to gear ourselves up for what will undoubtedly be a busy fall, winter, and spring. We are excited about our mission and also about how well we seem to work together as a group thus far.
We have developed a budget which the Governing Board reviewing in preparation for submission to the Trustees to cover our expenses. We are also working on a Congregational-wide survey about the ministerial search to hand out to members after a service that we as a committee are leading on September 26. If you cannot make this service, there will be an opportunity to fill out the survey the following week.
In addition to the survey, we have scheduled Cottage Meetings on September 26 (after the service). Wednesday September 29 from 7 – 9 PM, and Monday October 4 from 7 – 9 PM. These meetings will give members and friends an opportunity to share your opinions about Bell Street and what we should look for in a settled minister. Please sign up for one of the meetings on the sheets in Eddy Hall.
We cannot stress enough how much we need and value your input! You have invested us with the responsibility of this search, but ultimately, this is a search for your minister and each and every member of this congregation not only deserves, but needs, to be heard!
This is an exciting time in the history of Bell Street. It will be wonderful to have a settled minister for the first time in three years, but a lot of thought will be necessary between now and next summer. As the search committee members, we have volunteered to do the legwork, but this is truly a Bell Street Chapel community-wide effort. Please fill out the survey, and voice your concerns and desires on the survey and to us throughout the year so that we may best serve the membership of this vibrant and warm community which is so important to us. Again, the committee members are Greg Greco, Don Laliberte, Wendy Schwartz, Chad Welch, and Carol Wiseman.
There are some specific questions and issues that we ask that you consider as we launch into the search process:
1. A part-time minister cannot be expected to perform all the tasks of a full-time minister–an obvious statement, but one which may be more difficult to deal with as time goes on once the minister is settled. Please take some time to think about on what aspects of the ministry you think a part-time minister should focus and on what aspects the lay ministry might be best at serving.
2. When can we expect to have a full-time minister at Bell Street again and how would we go about making this feasible once more?
These are big questions to which we will return repeatedly throughout the year in this column. Please take some time to consider them–as well as what you envision as most important in a settled minister for Bell Street. And remember: please try to make it to the service on September 26 and fill out a survey!!
Wendy Schwartz