Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus!
As a dynamic and vision-focused community of faith, we constantly need leaders who have both the courage, enthusiasm, and humility to ask "where is God wanting us to go as a community". I thank God on a regular basis for these qualities that have been a mainstay among leaders here at St. James with whom I’ve had the pleasure to serve for the past dozen years (last Sunday was my twelfth anniversary.)
The lifting up of leaders is not a "once upon a time" effort; something that is accomplished and then onto something different. It is an ongoing effort of discernment. What challenges and opportunities face our community of faith and struggle at this moment? What skills and gifts are needed? What resources has God already given to us in order to meet these needs? How might we, through focusing on our core G.R.A.C.E. values (God's grace, respect, appreciation, care/compassion, encouragement), develop and strengthen individuals in their own leadership qualities?
The continued growth and vitality of the church is always in God's hands. God's spirit moves in familiar and strange ways among ordinary people so that extraordinary things are made possible. In prayer we seek to connect to this Spirit and discern where God is leading us to praise and serve.
The Nomination Process that we use to identify potential persons to serve on Council is grounded in these questions and ideas. At St. James, nominating people to serve on Council has become a creative and spiritual activity that is both open and transparent.
Over this past year, navigating the pandemic in the safest way possible, we have grown in our technological ability. This allows us to expand our Nomination process to include more voices. You have two possibilities to participate.
1) Nominate a person (or persons) online. Submit your names (using the link below) by Tuesday, March 2 (noon), and we enter them into the process during the first step. When considering a person who might make a good Council leader, it is helpful to think about who demonstrates our G.R.A.C.E. (God's grace, respect, appreciation, care/compassion, encouragement) values. Also it would be helpful to consider our clarified vision: "By the Grace of God, we will build and deepen loving relationships with God, each other, and our neighbors" All names received WILL BE entered into the process.
2) Attend the ZOOM meeting on March 2 at 7:00 p.m. You need to register (using the link below) ahead of time. All participants are asked to write down ahead of time a list of names that you think would serve well on Council. Each list will be entered into the nomination process. Together we will prayerfully consider all the names to identify a list of potential candidates. The process will take about an hour and a half.
Whether you submit names ahead of time or choose to participate in the Nominating zoom or not, I ask that you would please pray for your church. Pray for the Spirit to be present and guide those do the work of nominating so that the right skills and gifts are identified for this time in our life together. Pray also for current leaders and those who will be transitioning from leadership roles in 2021. Say a prayer of thanksgiving and appreciation for the long hours and hard work that our leaders have so generously given.
In these early days of Lent and at the start of my thirteenth year at St. James, I remain thankful for the ministry that we share in Jesus’s name. I look forward to worshiping with you on Sundays whether that is through our Drive-IN worship (with communion during Lent) at 8:00 a.m., our Livestream Online at 9:30 a.m., our Hybrid Communion at 9:30 in the Fellowship Hall (registration required), or our ZOOM/Phone Communion at noon.
In Christ’s Light,
Pastor Walt