Congregational Collaboration

Join Together on June 14

Our congregation affirmed our 5 Guiding Statements in April 2019; at that time, we were served by two full-time clergy. The following year, we entered a one-year parental leave for our Minister of Faith Development at the same time COVID-19 disrupted our patterns of church life. Over the next two years, we experienced ongoing transition in our second clergy role, including the resignation of our Minister of Faith Development and two periods of interim support.

Rather than rushing to refill a vacated clergy position, the congregation took an intentional pause to give time to see where ministry was leading in the post-COVID era of FBCH. Since then, our ministries have been sustained in part through the extraordinary support of volunteers, including our Minister of Inclusive Community (Arla Johnson) and our Lay Ministers (John Dalton and David Bourque). Arla and John have provided back-up support for preaching, and Arla has been “on call” to assist with acute pastoral care needs and funerals when Rusty was away. David has faithfully carried the work of pastoral care for shut-ins and those with long-term care needs. 

This season of transition has also depended on extensive ministry support from those serving as Chair of Deacons—an expectation we cannot sustain indefinitely.

In January, the Deacon Executive began discussing the need to move toward a staff team with two full-time clergy. The Leadership Team also recognizes that the support structures that have sustained us in recent years are waning, with volunteer ministers no longer able to commit to on-call pastoral care and preaching support. At the same time, we are experiencing growth and emerging opportunities, even as our ministry team is reaching the limits of our capacity—limiting our ability to fully live into this season of our church life. 

The question before us is not how to return to a previous model of church life, but how to faithfully structure our clergy team for the realities of the present moment and the path ahead. The need for additional clergy capacity arises from the current and growing life of the Congregation and is not dependent on any single financial event, though anticipated future resources will strengthen our ability to sustain this role.

The Deacons and Leadership Team reflected on this during our recent retreat. We feel it is time to begin engaging the Congregation in early discussions about the possibility of creating a second full-time clergy position. We invite you to a time of collaboration on Sunday, June 14. A key question to consider: If FBCH were to create a second clergy position, what priorities would you like to see included in the position (or added to the responsibilities of our clergy team)? This will build upon the work we did together last Sunday (May 31) to develop ideas for growth, impact, and deeper engagement related to our 5 Guiding Statements.

Over the summer, we will review feedback from our June 14 session to help our Deacons and Leadership Team determine if the Congregation is ready to continue this conversation in the fall. 

Short-Term Support
While we consider long-term plans for clergy support, the Deacons recognized in April that the summer posed an immediate challenge. As is customary, our Senior Minister will take a month of his vacation in the summer. In the past, we primarily needed to ensure preaching continuity, but our current clergy situation meant we would be without pastoral presence with no back-up clergy support. Deacons felt it important that we have a clergy with us who already knows our Congregation and can also assist with day-to-day operations as needed. To that end, the Deacons and Leadership Team are happy to report that Luke Dowding has agreed to return for two months this summer. He will be with us July 15-September 15, covering Rusty’s vacation leave and present to assist with preparations for a meaningful fall season at FBCH.