This Sunday, the process of calling Gloria Dei’s next pastor will move to another phase. That is, the Call Committee will be installed, and along with the Congregation Council, they will review with Pastor Dean Brown, Bishop Compton’s Assistant, the Mission Study Profile diligently prepared by the Council. This is a significant step in the progression of Gloria Dei toward discerning who your next pastor will be.
The Call Process Booklet written and provided for congregations by the Office of the Bishop says the following about this endeavor:
A congregation calling a pastor is not the same as a business or organization’s hiring an employee. This is not so much about finding a particular person to do a particular job as it is about entering into a relationship. A pastor brings a previously affirmed commitment to Word and Sacrament ministry into a specific community, and there promises to care for and nourish the congregation and to stand as a faithful witness for the sake of the Gospel
in that place.
In so doing, the pastor brings the care and concern of the whole Church; indeed, the whole Church is concerned for the faithful proclamation of the Gospel in that place. The pastor is ordained by the whole Church both to provide for the baptized members of the congregation, and to lead and enable those same disciples in their witness and service to the community in which they are placed.
A few of these statements bear repeating. First, our ELCA congregations don’t hire pastors, we call them. Calling the one who will serve as your next pastor means discerning what the potential for mutual ministry is with her or him. It’s about listening to the nudge of the Holy Spirit as the Call Committee asks, “Does this person have the gifts, skills, experience and personality to lead our congregation into the future as we seek to fulfill God’s mission within and beyond our congregation?”
Another assertion bears repeating too. Namely, that when we call pastors in the ELCA, they do not belong solely to the congregation, nor are they called to serve only in the congregation. Rather, our pastors serve the whole Church. They care for the flock within the congregation and lead that same flock in their witness and service in and to the world.
We are thankful that the following six persons: Deja Clark, Justin Davis, Julia Koch, Katy Lack, Owen LaChance, and Jen Paulazzo, are willing to make this commitment to serve on Gloria Dei’s Call Committee. So too, let us commit ourselves to pray for and support them as they undertake this important step in the life of our congregation.
Pastor Gladys G. Moore
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