Interim and Search Update

At a specially called meeting on February 5, the Congregation voted to appoint a search committee for the permanent English Language Pastor. The committee is: Maura Galarza, Yanira Silva, Eh Kler, Cecilia Poenyunt, Sachiko Kano, Jay Shimotake, George Figueroa, Peggy Griffin, Becca HartmanPickerill, Barbara Lehman, Agnes Palmejar-Takaki, Scott Turner, Nick Fong, and the four settled pastors, Pastor Kathryn Ray, Pastor Rony Reyes, Pastor Roger Poenyunt, and Pastor Yuki Scroggins. Our English Congregation Interim, Pastor David Gregg will serve as a resource to the committee in the early part of the search.

The committee was commissioned for its work as part of the Healing Service on February 12. Their first meeting will be March 9. Their first steps are to select a chair and orient themselves to the interim and search process. Normally we would receive assistance in this church from the Regional Executive Minister. At this time, however, the Executives in Chicago are the previous English language pastors of this church, Revs Carol McVetty & Doug Harris, and it would be inappropriate for them to work with our search committee. So they have invited the Regional Executive Minister from ABC-Wisconsin, Rev Marie Onwubuariri, to work with our committee; we will also be helped by Rev Sarah Jay, the Associate Regional Minister for Euro American and multi-cultural congregations in Metro Chicago. They will both be at that first meeting. There is a lot about the search that must remain confidential, and so there will be periods when the church will not know what all the committee is doing. But it will be all the more important, therefore, for the committee to communicate what it can. Watch this space for further updates in coming months. it on and for their commitment to walking this journey together. 
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