September Newsletter - Search Committee

September 22, 2006

Greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This communication is one of the many you will receive during the period that we are searching for a Senior Pastor for our Church. All the communications, letters, questionnaires, etc., will be coming to you either by Church announcements or by mail and copies of questionnaires will be available for pick up from the Church office. For quick identification, we will be using one color paper: turquoise.

As some of you know, the pastoral Search Committee was formed and we've had the opportunity to meet a few times during the summer. The process of creating the Search Committee was determined and voted by the Council as well as the Congregation. A Nominating Committee was first formed and this Nominating Committee went to work. They proposed, and the Council agreed, to enter names of members of the Congregation as candidates to the Search Committee. When the nomination/voting process by the Council ended, the Nominating Committee, after prayer and meditation, invited the individuals that received majority votes to accept the call and join the Search Committee. Letters were sent to candidates with an invitation; some accepted and others declined. It was also determined and voted that the Search Committee should consist of nine members with two "permanent" alternates, ready to step in at any time.

As nominees accepted the invitation, their names were put to vote first by the Council and again by the Congregation. Both voted to accept the names, none were challenged, thus a Search Committee was born (names at the end of this letter). We were "called by God, in accordance with the Bylaws of this Church to serve among us as a Search Committee for the Senior Pastor". We have accepted our call and are willing to serve. One Sunday in May, the members of the Search Committee were presented to the congregation and were prayed over by the pastor. During the September 10th Lord's Day service, the Search Committee was "dedicated", promising to rely on God's help and "exercise our ministry diligently, prayerfully and faithfully, for the glory of God." During the service, the Congregation also covenanted to "be partners with us", promised to "love us, to share our vision of the Church, and pray for us weekly."

Since the Committee was formed, we had a couple of meetings and we are getting to know each other. We understand that we have different backgrounds, different ideologies, personalities, idiosyncrasies and even different theology, but we agreed to be kind to one another as we work to successfully complete the mandate that you, the Congregation, has entrusted us. We have a big challenge in front of us and we ask that you keep us in your prayers, be patient with us, be understanding and kind, provide us with your opinions and feedback, and open up your hearts, and if necessary, your homes. We will explore all available means and work towards a common goal, that of finding a pastor, the right pastor, for the First Congregational Church On The Green, using the guidelines established by the Connecticut UCC Conference.

One of the first steps that we need to complete is a Church profile. And in order to complete our Church's profile, a major step, we need to know and understand the make up of this Church, who are its people, what are our strengths, our weaknesses and what kind of future we want to move towards. The completion and availability of this profile is essential and a prerequisite for reviewing pastoral candidates. So, in order to aid the Search Committee to effectively complete the profile, a number of Church meetings have been arranged and we are exploring the possibility of getting together for communal breakfast meetings or pot lock suppers. We hope that you will join us in as many of these meetings as possible and invite other family members, friends, ex-members and potential members to join us. Our first meeting was held on Sunday, September 10th and the purpose of the meeting was for the Congregation to meet the Search Committee and to fill out an anonymous questionnaire.

Please note, the first questionnaire is enclosed with this mailing and on behalf of the Search Committee, I ask you to please fill it out and return it to the Church. Please fill out one questionnaire individually, do not duplicate the information. You may mail back your questionnaire, give it to an usher, put it in the plate or place it in the box labeled "Search Committee" which can be found at the entrance of the Church. If you know of someone who has not received this questionnaire, either pick up a copy from the Church or call the Church office so a copy can be mailed out.

We hope to see many of you at future meetings. If you cannot attend any meetings, your feedback and comments are still welcomed and we encourage you to talk to one another and also with us. The meetings will be held at the Church after The Lord's Day Service. The scheduled meetings are as follows:

October 1st - Parish Hall. This session will cover the History of our Church. Approximately 1.5 hours.

October 15th - Parish Hall. We will discuss the questions of: What kind of minister do we want? Approximately 1.5 hours

October 29th - Parish Hall. The world as it is and will be - What will the world look like in 2016? What will Norwalk look like in 2011?

For the month of November, we are looking to organize an evening of get together which will include dinner; we will use the Parish Hall. More information will follow as we finalize the details.

Please don't hesitate to contact the Church and/or the Search Committee members with your concerns.

The members of the Search Committee are:

Lynn Szwaja, co-chair	Herbert Grant, co-chair
Frank Glick	Elsie Chapman
Joseph DeRuvo	Mary Ann Strolin
Derek Pryce	Roger Hanford
Margarita Destruge	Norbert Napier and Glendia Cartwright, alternates

In closing, I will repeat the prayer that was used during the Dedication of the Search Committee.

"Eternal God, you have called these people to serve you in this household of faith which you have entrusted to our care and keeping. Send your Holy Spirit upon them as they serve, and bless the one who will be called as the new Senior Pastor. Keep the Search Committee and all of us in your way for Jesus' sake. AMEN".

In Christ's Love
Margarita Destruge
Communications Coordinator for the Search Committee