Senior Minister Search Timeline
The committee will be communicating with the congregation as to the status of our search on this webpage, in our Wednesday Weekly emails, and during Sunday worship services. Please check back frequently for updates.
Weekly Search Update from our Senior Pastor Search Committee! 1/29/24:
Grateful Greetings from the First Congo Senior Minister Search Committee!
As we communicated to you last Wednesday, after receiving unanimous support from First Congo’s Executive Committee, our committee was to present our selected candidate’s credentials to Church Council for a thorough review and a vote of support and presentation to the Congregation.
This presentation and vote took place Monday evening, and we are extremely pleased to announce that after a very positive and Spirit-filled presentation and discussion, our Church Council voted unanimously to support and present the candidate to the Congregation for a call vote on Sunday, March 9.
On Sunday March 9, our candidate will preach an introductory sermon at the 10:00am worship service led that day by Rev. Meredith Onion. It’s a Congregational Church tradition that the sitting Senior Pastor is not present. The call vote will occur directly following that service in a formal Congregational Meeting. At this meeting, the Committee will present the candidate’s background and qualifications to the Congregation, we will hear reactions from those who participated in the interview process, and there will be an opportunity for the congregation to ask questions and make comments regarding the candidate. The Congregation will then proceed with a vote to call the candidate as our next Senior Minister.
Lastly, and as we communicated last week – because our candidate has not announced their intention to resign their current call, we must still maintain the candidate’s anonymity. This anonymity will continue most likely until formal presentation to our Congregation on March 9th. While challenging, congregational leadership continues to feel this is required to ensure the candidate can manage messaging to their current church and congregation about their intent to accept our call.
We sincerely thank you for the trust and faith you’ve placed in us. In fact, as we communicated to Church Council last evening, our committee’s work has truly been a gift to all of its members. We are grateful to have had this opportunity.
You will hear a bit more from the Search Committee on Sunday, February 2 at our annual meeting, and please make sure you mark your calendar for Sunday, March 9 at which time you can meet the candidate and their family!
Our Church’s future is bright indeed!
Blessings,
The First Congregational Church Senior Minister Search Committee
