Typically when a pastoral vacancy occurs the bishop assigns an Interim Pastor until a new pastor is called. The interim does all the usual pastoral tasks but after some time hands the ministry over to the new pastor. Interims are not generally available to be called as the new pastor.
A Call Committee will be formed of perhaps 6 or more people with a balance of male and female members, members who have been here awhile and members who may be fairly new to ULC/LCM. Here a student or two should be included as well as someone to represent those in the church who are LGBTQ+. Some people may fill two roles…..a church member who is newer and is LGBTQ+ for example.
The very good news right now is this: First thing the morning after Pastor Gary announced his retirement to the council, Council President Katherine Stevens called Pastor Gary to find out who she should contact in the synod office. Pastor Gary gave her the information and also sent along Katherine’s contact information to the synod. Hours later Katherine received a call from the synod office. There is also a Zoom meeting scheduled for staff and Council to meet with our ELCA Transition Coach.
You will be invited at some point to respond to a survey or two to pass along to the bishop indicating what the community here may be looking for in a new pastor. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet and stronger than a locomotive will not be among the survey choices.
Give leadership and the staff some extra help and all the support you can. Your leaders are committed to doing this as quickly as possible but even more committed to finding the right match for us.
