We’re pleased to report that we have completed the Church Profile – the document sent to the RCA to officially announce our pastoral search. The profile includes information about our church and what we’re looking for in our next pastor. We used the information collected by the Transition Team and we met with members of the consistory and others in the congregation to gather the background and statistics that are part of the report. The profile was unanimously approved by the Consistory on June 10 and submitted to the RCA Denominational office in NYC  (and to the Albany Synod Office) on June 11. It will be shared with clergy who may be interested in the position and we should begin to receive either names of potential candidates or their expressions of interest soon.  At that point, we will begin the process of evaluating the profiles, contacting the candidates, interviewing and doing reference checks.

Because we would like to ensure the best pool of candidates, we are also in the process of working with the Albany Presbytery to announce our position among their clergy. The RCA and Presbyterian Church are VERY closely aligned and have a “Formula of Agreement” that establishes full communion with one another, meaning that we mutually recognize our sharing of the essential doctrines. In fact, if you’ve never noticed this before, we use the same hymnal.

So, while it has taken some time to get to the point of officially beginning the search part of our search process, we want to emphasize that so many positive things have taken place over the past 10 months. We’ve taken a long look at who we are as a congregation, what we’re doing and what we NEED to be doing. Weekly coffee hours are well attended, people are staying, talking, and getting to know one another better.  Communication has improved.  Some traditions are changing, but new groups are forming and people are engaged and growing spiritually. We’ve come together to do what needs to be done and we’ve done a lot to strengthen our bonds.  All of this will help because it presents a positive picture for the candidates. We know that God is with us and that he’ll lead us to our new pastor as long as we keep following him.

We’ll continue to keep you posted about our progress and ask you to keep praying for us, for our intended new pastor, and for the congregation as we all continue to do God’s work.