Special Congregational Meeting May 12, 10am Combined Service including vote on pastoral candidate
This is the Call Committee’s final update, because our team has completed its task, almost exactly one year after we started. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have unanimously recommended a candidate for the position of Christ the King’s permanent pastor. (See process flow chart here.)
The church council affirmed our recommendation at a special meeting on April 24th, introduced the nominee to the congregation only three days later (wow!), and has scheduled a special congregational meeting for Sunday, May 12th. At that meeting, the entire congregation of Christ the King will vote on two issues: whether to extend a call, and if so, to approve a compensation package.
As we approach Pentecost, all Christians are reminded of the importance of the Holy Spirit. Our team will probably never view the Holy Spirit in the same way again, after such an amazing shared experience of witnessing it at work. While we have spent a lot of time and energy on this project, it has surprised us that the part we thought would be toughest – discernment – turned out to be so straightforward. As long as we prayed earnestly and regularly, all we had to do was listen. We thought we might need to look for subtle signs to see which way God was leading us, but we found an obvious sign in unanimity, even to the point of some of the candidates themselves suggesting the same things we were feeling and thinking.
Thank you so much to the CtK Council for entrusting us with this task, and to everyone who has pitched in to help. Special thanks go to Julie McCallister for providing no-questions-asked hotel lodging for candidates/families during interviews and our nominee’s visit to the congregation. We are enormously grateful to the pastors who have been involved in CtK’s call process, and to the congregation and friends of Christ the King who have prayed faithfully throughout this journey.
Tom Duft, Margaret Hjermstad, Jordan House, Holly Landgren, Lynn Partridge, Jigger Staby.
For more information: email the call committee (callcom@ctkdurango.org), or call the church office (247-5310).
“God’s grace is a great, strong, mighty and active thing. It upholds, leads, drives, draws, changes, and works all things in a person and is really felt and experienced. It remains hidden, but its works are manifest. Works and words point to where it is, just as the fruit and the leaves show the kind and nature of the tree.”
― Martin Luther, Sermons from the Year 1522
The Background:
As our 50th anniversary approaches (in 2014), the congregation of Christ the King is also starting the process of calling a new pastor. Pastor John Knutson served CtK for 18 years until April 15th, 2012, when he accepted a new call in Greeley, Colorado. As Christ the King’s congregation, we are now re-examining our priorities, discerning where God is leading us, and preparing to choose a new pastor to join us as we begin our next half-century.
Interim Pastors:
On May 1st, 2012, Pastor Rich Ajer began serving as Christ the King’s Interim Pastor. As an intentional interim pastor, Pastor Rich helped our congregation grow spiritually as we moved through the phases of our transition.
On April 1st, 2013, Christ the King welcomed Pastor Neal Mather as our intentional interim pastor. In his letter to the congregation, he is very excited to work with us in our final stages of calling a new pastor.
The Call Process:
On average, the entire process of calling a permanent pastor requires about a year, but can be as short as six months or as long as two years. When Pastor John announced he was leaving, the church council contacted the bishop’s office at the Rocky Mountain Synod. Pastor Dan Bollman spent a weekend with our congregation, and helped us with the first half of the call process. When the Bishop Jim Gonia took office at the RMS, Pastor Sarah Moening became our official synod contact, and is guiding us through the second half of the process.
In April, the council appointed six CtK members to the call committee, which has met weekly since May 1st. The call committee’s first big job was to put together the Ministry Site Profile, a 14-page document that describes our church, CtK’s vision for the future, and the skills/characteristics we are seeking in our new pastor.
During all of June and July, call committee members surveyed the congregation and held cottage meetings so they could accurately represent Christ the King in their responses to MSP questions. After compiling the the information, they spent the rest of the summer working on the MSP, which was approved by the church council, then submitted to the bishop’s office in late September.
After CtK submitted the MSP to the bishop’s office, a match-making process began, and on Reformation Day (October 31st), the committee was given the names of several interested candidates. Everything became confidential at the point that the committee received names, since most prospective pastors have not made it public that they are investigating new calls. Committee members can’t say anything about how many names they have, where candidates are from, how old they are, how many are women, etc.
After reviewing the Rostered Leader Profiles (RLPs) of the candidates, call committee members are now in the discernment process, which means they are gathering information, getting to know candidates, and listening, so they can be led by the Holy Spirit in making a good choice for CtK’s pastor. They hope to be able to make a recommendation to the church council by January or February. If the council approves the committee’s recommendation, the prospective pastor will be introduced to the congregation, and the entire congregation will vote on whether to extend a call to the pastor.
The Call Committee:
Our goal is to keep everyone at Christ the King so well-informed that you get sick of hearing from us! We will provide updates in the Scribe, during worship services, and on this web page. Let us know what you need – talk to us at church or send us an email at callcom@ctkdurango.org.
Clockwise from left front: Margaret Hjermstad, Jordan House, Tom Duft, Holly Landgren, Jigger Staby, Lynn Partridge
How You Can Help:
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Include Christ the King, Interim Pastor Neal, the CtK Council, and the prospective pastor in your prayers.
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Get more involved! Try a different worship service, volunteer in the office, join up with a friend to make snacks for fellowship.
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Keep your eyes on the prize – the big picture, why we are calling a pastor in the first place – our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Survey Results
Click the link to see results of CtK’s three congregational surveys.
Ministry Site Profile
The MSP is available in the library and the church office for anyone who would like to read it. You may use the machine in the church office to make copies.
More Information:
If you have any questions about the call process, talk to a call committee member at church, contact Pastor Rich (970-247-5310) or email the call committee (callcom@ctkdurango.org).
Thanks!
Tom Duft, Margaret Hjermstad, Jordan House, Holly Landgren, Lynn Partridge, Jigger Staby
