2023 is a year of transition for us at Living hope. The Board has set three goals: to maintain the momentum we experienced in 2022, to preserve the health of our church, and to discern who is to be our new Lead Pastor. The first month has given us many reasons to be encouraged – we have seen increased attendance on Sundays, in community groups, and in the Wednesday evening midweek meal and programs. In addition, we exceeded our giving budget in the first half of our fiscal year by 6%. Thank you, Jesus!
Al Fedorak has begun his tenure as our Interim Lead Pastor. His transition into this role created a vacancy on the Board of Elders; Steven Munro was appointed to fill this vacancy.
The Board has appointed a Pastoral Search Committee, with Kevin Gatschene as Chair. Steven Munro and Lola Sotomi represent the Board of Elders, with Shelley Patterson, Mark Stefan, Tim Eldred and Janelle Wilson as members of Living Hope. This committee met on January 17 to establish parameters and timelines for the team. The parameters include:
- Collecting all data required to do the work
- Preparing required documents for the search process
- Conducting application reviews, including preliminary interviews of potential candidates
- Preparing a short list of 2 or 3 candidates to present to the Board of Elders
In order to complete their task, the Search Committee needs your help. On January 29th and 31st, they will be hosting Discernment Gatherings open to all members and adherents of Living Hope to receive input on God’s direction for this church. Following these meetings, the Search Committee will synthesize the data and bring it back to the congregation at an Information Meeting that will take place immediately after the Connect Lunch on February 12th. At that meeting, you will also have an opportunity to fill out a survey on preferred characteristics for our next Pastor. This survey will also be available online.
At our Board Retreat on March 4, 2023, we will analyze and review the information collected through the Discernment Meetings and the Survey responses. Assuming that the data points toward readiness to move ahead, we would like to post the position by March 15. The closing date for submissions will be 30 days after posting. The Pastoral Search Team will present a short list of candidates to the Board of Elders by April 25. The Board will decide whom to invite to candidate by May 16, with the desire for a candidating weekend in early June and a start date September 1. Please pray for our Search Committee and our Board of Elders throughout this process.
The Board of Elders has appointed Kevin Gatschene, Deji Oyetuga, and Gwendolyn Schroeder to the Nominations Committee. Joanna Giblett, Christine Lett, and Steven Munro were elected as Congregation members to this committee at the Annual General Meeting in September, 2022. Now that Steven has been appointed to the Board of Elders, he is no longer eligible to sit as a member on this committee. On February 12th, we will hold a brief membership meeting to elect a replacement for Steven.
Other important dates are a Membership 101 Seminar on Monday, February 13 at 7 pm and a Board of Elders meeting on February 28.
We ask you to pray for these committees as well as the Board of Elders. In addition, we need your prayers to protect our church during this time of transition. God is at work, but we know Satan is at work trying to discourage or isolate us as he attempts to thwart our efforts. Together may we daily put on the Armour of God to protect our minds and hearts as we seek to become what Jesus envisions.
Your Board of Elders,
Allen Fedorak (Interim Lead Pastor) Lola Sotomi
Kevin Gatschene (Vice-Chair) Deji Oyetuga
Shannon Vinter (Treasurer) Steven Munro
Gwendolyn Schroeder (Secretary)
