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We've made it to the bottom of page 32 (of 109) of the Call Process
Manual! This means your call committee has agreed on a candidate we believe is called to be our next pastor, and furthermore that he (yes, "he") believes we are called to be his congregation. Thanks be to God! But we have 77 more pages to go. What could possibly be next? The next major phase in this process will be working through the details of the contract and proposed compensation package. 1 Timothy 5:18 reminds us to ensure that workers are able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Pray for our congregational council as they joyfully live up to this scriptural demand. And there's still more. In the coming weeks we'll arrange some kind of meet-and-greet event, and then there will be a congregational meeting to vote on whether to call him, and whether to approve the compensation package proposed by our council. And there's still more. Since this would be Kristofer's first call, he'll need to figure out where we wants to have his ordination take place. And then there's that matter of scheduling his installation, probably by our conference Dean, here at CGS. And a zillion little details along the way. Our sincere hope is that we'll have made it through all this around the beginning of the new year, but we're entering a stage of the process where external dependencies (like schedules of deans and bishops) seem to proliferate. During this time, please hold Kristofer and his wife Laura in your prayers, along with our council as they lay the foundations for this next stage of our lives together. Your Call Committee, Randy, Adolfo, Julia, Matt, Paul, and Sarah
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I had the privilege to be educated by the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco. Don Bosco dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth in Torino. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment. When we were in school, we were doing dishes, cleaning up the dining hall, visiting retirement homes, and doing all kinds of “on the ground” charitable work. What stuck with me most and why I later felt so at home with the Lutheran faith and CGS was:
Like any family living in sunny but expensive Bay Area, we always must juggle time, stress and money. Working and raising two teenagers, we try to balance educating, sky rocketing cost of living, fueling 3000 calories per day diets, and saving so we can visit our loved ones in Europe and so our kids hopefully don’t have to worry about their aging parents. We love participating in CGS activities whenever we can, God works our hands, and the Safe Car Park ministry are our favorites. Ansgar made a stint in the Keynote group and I would love to join the choir, but as the saying goes too many commitments, too little time. We are also fortunate to participate in other charitable work with the Johanniter order, the Masonic Service Association at the VA, teaching Tai Chi and Martha’s Kitchen. At the October church council Jean – watching our congregation finances with the utmost care, thank you Jean! - brought up that our donation level is under budget and that it would be good to raise awareness of this fact in our community newsletter. So here you go, here is my attempt to talk about a very sensitive topic. I don’t like to ask people to give money and per the above I prefer giving time and “doing” the work. But as a former controller I understand the realities of keeping a balanced budget to fund all the wonderful ministries of our beloved CGS church. Our world today is all caught up in the daily media reports of war, inflation, rioting, latest COVID variant, recession and natural disasters. Honestly, I often turn off the news as to me it’s mental poisoning. I try to spend time on activities that will help me stay positive like dancing, giving, meditating, reading uplifting works and praying. Like all of us – and especially now that I must find a new job, I need to overcome my fears and give while trusting that at some point this too shall pass. One of my mother’s favorite sayings – which came from my grandmother who lived thru WWI, WWII and the Algeria wars was “Tout va bien a celui qui sait attendre et qui croit en Dieu”. Which means good things will come to those who are patient and have faith. Now if a devout and loving farmer’s voice might not be as meaningful to you as it is to me, I will quote my favorite verses from the scriptures on the topic of trusting a better future and giving. On Trust - John 16:33 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” It Is Better to Give Than Receive - Acts 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” On Treasures in Heaven - Matthew 6:16-34 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. On Freedom from Fear - Matthew 6:16-34 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. From the bottom of my heart, I pray that this season will bring new energy and hope to your life. Autumn is so much full of positivity, happiness and goodness. It is the season of giving, and nobody can ever tell you what to give, you know it in your heart. Just go and do it. In Peace, Isabelle Coste-Fürst – CGS Council Member Saying "no" is hard. It's especially hard when you know someone wants
something so badly they can taste it, when they've prepared for years and feel that hope deep in their bones that this might be the place. This is a challenge of the call process that I hadn't really appreciated. I already knew from having hired employees that turning down prospects was both necessary and uncomfortable, especially when there were multiple well-qualified applicants for a single opening, but there's something about the call process that makes it different. Perhaps it's the amount of filtering that has already happened before we see a prospect's name. Perhaps it's how much they've invested in learning about our congregation before they even talk to us. Perhaps it's the possibility that this call would occupy them for the rest of their earthly life. But there's no "perhaps" about the feeling it leaves in my gut, a sort of über-FOMO despite my intellectual appreciation that we can say "yes" to at most one. At this time, we're at about page 28 (of 109) of the "Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA Transition and Call Process Manual for Congregations in Transition." We conducted video interviews and met to discuss them in depth. After much thought, discussion, and prayer, we released those we couldn't envision at CGS from consideration so they might pursue other possibilities. We met on October 2nd to identify the topics we want to give priority in face-to-face interviews scheduled with the remaining candidates. We've been contacting references. By October 16th, we will have conducted the interviews, and will then meet to digest what we have learned and decide how we want to proceed from there. We ask for prayer: - that those we have released find calls well-suited to their most abundant gifts; - for the remaining candidates as they discern whether CGS would be right for them; - and for the Call Committee, that we might hear the Holy Spirit's prompting. |
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