I would like to give a quick update on the process as we embark on calling our next Associate Pastor at First Lutheran.
Pastor Megan Morrow, Assistant to the Bishop, joined the First Lutheran Council meeting last week to give us an orientation to the process. We are in the preparation phase of that process and we have two major pieces to complete during this phase: 1) to write our Ministry Site Profile (MSP) and 2) to form a Call Committee. The MSP summarizes the characteristics of our congregation and its ministry. The Call Committee will work in partnership with the Synod to receive and interview candidates.
As we get started, I appreciate Bishop Brian Maas’s words to us in the Synod’s call process manual: “The Call Process is a time for prayerful and intentional discernment not only about your next leader, but also about your congregation’s mission and future. A congregational call is not a simple hire, but the initiation of a relationship crafted to launch, enable and endure mutual support, challenge and faithful response to God’s call to mission.”
In the weeks and months to come, please hold this call process in prayer for the Holy Spirit’s work and leading. Pray for the Spirit’s discernment, as Bishop Maas says, for the next leader God is calling to First Lutheran, along with discernment for the mission of our congregation.
In Christ’s Grace + Peace,
Pastor Erin
