Background

Beginning in the spring of 2019 I asked to the Personnel Commission to begin studying the best way to serve the needs of the congregation. While it was clear that having a vacancy and an interim/temporary pastor was an opportune time to rethink how the staff was organized, Personnel and I were interested in how the opportunity could be used to create a model where no one would slip through the cracks in care, where all members could find meaningful worship, deepen faith through different learning opportunities, and learn to follow Christ into the world in service to others.

Howard Adams, a member of Personnel Commission and an elder, led the initial team in bringing this to our Session. The Session nominated several individuals to be considered for membership on this task force. Our church leaders wanted to ensure that all the major constituent groups of the church would be represented on this team and that leadership from the Mission Study would be included – to maintain continuity and connection to this formative document. The final team, or Organizational Structure Task Force, includes:

Howard Adams
Audrey Chen
Gregg Gorman
Martha Kieczykowski, Co-Chair
Deborah Lorenzetti
Brooke May
Charlie Monzella
Alan Smith, Co-Chair

Once formed, the team began to meet roughly weekly from October through January in order to study, pray, listen, and explore how God may be working in new ways to lead our congregation.