Beloved,
Preceded by worship with holy
communion and a devotional reading of Matthew 9:35-10:42, session met for its
monthly stated meeting with representatives from the deacons and invited
guests.
Because of our Lord's passion for
witnessing in His light (see John 3:19-21), I will ask Karen, if no one
objects, to duplicate this update for inclusion in this coming Sunday's
bulletin. It will also be published on Wednesday as "First's
Family Undershepherd
Script (23)." While it may be lengthy and cumbersome for some, one
consistent concern in our congregation is the thirst for more
information. Well, uh, here we go!
I know e-mail or snail mail or any
written communication has limitations - open to sad misinterpretations and
reading between the lines and imagining and...
I know some folks rebel against such
communications and prefer face-to-face reviews of everything; and while
respecting that desire and always available to anyone about anything at just
about anytime as asked, this update is important for so many in such a
timely way that such individual attention is imprudent as well as hurtful to
those who would ask why they were not contacted when someone else was
contacted.
Now to last night's meeting.
Last night's meeting was marked by
the best expressions of Christian character by all who attended.
All decisions were unanimous or
clear/substantial/indisputable majorities.
The meeting's deportment was
marked by grace, generosity, and other hallmarks of agape.
I felt privileged to moderate such a
meeting of people so dedicated to honoring Jesus.
Among the many decisions made, I
believe two rise to the level of Christocentric/Biblical significance.
Other decisions will be reflected in
the minutes of the meeting that are available to anyone who asks Karen for a
copy and highlighted by Connie for the newsletter.
First, appreciation and affirmation
were expressed repeatedly for the tireless, generous, and steadfast service of
Dale as chairman of the Project Team. Everyone recognizes the financial
challenges of these times and thanks him for leading with Jan, Carl, Pat and
those employed by the church during this renovation/expansion. The bad
news is we will exhaust most of our endowment as we move to completion of the
project. The good news is we will not be in debt. Bob (not me) will
be helping to monitor the completion of the work; focusing on completing all
current aspects of the renovation/expansion while not commencing anything
new. Again, while recognizing the challenges, this discussion was marked
by celebration along with appreciation and affirmation of Dale's exemplary
service.
Second, it was unanimously decided
the "senior" (Geez! I know I'm...) pastor will exercise the
constitutional rights/demands/expectations of our denomination's constitution
and order worship subject to the review of session. These discussions
were marked by attention to "Leadership for Today's Church" which can
be read via www.koppdisclosure.com.
Appreciation and affirmation were expressed repeatedly for all who have been
coordinating and ordering music, rubrics, and ceremonies of rites in worship;
however, it has become increasingly clear that members of our family of faith
at First Presbyterian Church have become increasingly frustrated by not knowing
where the "buck" stops. Session made it clear that the buck
stops with session through the "senior" pastor as the primary
liturgical leader of the family. Practically, this means anyone who has a
problem, complaint, concern, vision, revelation, inspiration, or indigestion
will know that they can blame the pastor and focus their energies in his
direction. I made one important comment (amplified since last
night) here: "It is important for all of us to remind folks that
listening and agreeing are not synonyms." Specifically, the
"senior" pastor subject to the review of session will order the
liturgies, determine how much music is included in services, honor the
diversity of music inspired by our Lord, and so on. After the unanimous
vote, I fleshed it out a bit more. While I pray never to be pharisaical
as I submit to the reviews and authority of the session, I told session that
this will commence on 11/27, Elaine will coordinate praise songs with me and
help order the service with Karen et moi for publication in bulletins, Lisa
will be the "gatekeeper" of all musicians and continue her
responsibilities with our rich diversity of choirs and musicians and consult
with Elaine and me about the availability of selections for Sundays in
advance, Mona will continue her ministry in the first service and be asked to
play the organ and piano in the second service as requested (noting Lisa
will play organ hymns when Mona is unavailable), and Karry will coordinate
liturgical participation/leadership/speaking/praying apart from the concerns
preceding the service, message, sacraments, prayers, and other elements
entrusted to the "senior" pastor and subject to the review of
session. In short, people will now know where the buck stops and how to
be heard as we pray and labor together to honor Him in worship.
If I am wrong in any of my
recollections or amplifications, participants in last night's meeting will hit
"reply all" and correct me; expressing my apologies in advance for
anything that I have miscommunicated or misinterpreted.
Again, it was a great meeting; and
from worship through adjournment, I trust we felt the warmth and gentle
guidance of His Holy Spirit.
Blessings and Love!
P.S. Please feel free to forward
this to anyone not appearing as copied who you feel should recieve this.
Again, if anyone reads anything pejorative in the above, it is my failure to
communicate the overwhelming presence of the Lord in gently guiding session in
all its deliberations last night.
