Pastoral Search Committee Update
Consistory pastoral search co-chairs: Melinda Herzog & Dick Marone
Search Committee members: Deborah Tucker, Barbara Sartorius, Joyce Pinckney, Jim Mayfield, Christine Henning, Glenn Decker, Midge Stott, Shirley Ruth, David Giles, Christa Conlin and Rev. Howard Smith (supervisor)
Consistory Liaisons: Carla Paton, Frank Pinckney and Cindy Sumerano
Comments and/or questions should be directed through the church office by mail at: 17 Main St. or PO Box 328, Hurley, NY, 12443 or by phone, 845-331-4121 or by email at admin@HurleyReformedChurch.org
The following are Search Committee updates from last to first.
October 21, 2008. At their meeting of October 21st. The Mid-Hudson Classes formally issued a call to Rev. Gram to become the pastor of the Hurley Reformed Church.
October 5, 2008. Rev. Dr. Robert Gram to become new pastor: Rev. Gram led worship and preached on Sunday, October 5, 2008. A ballot vote by the congregation following the service overwhelmingly supported and affirmed the nomination of Rev. Gram. A formal call to be pastor is being prepared and will be submitted to Classis for approval. Rev. Gram has indicated his acceptance of our call. His first official Sunday will be Sunday, November 30, 2008. This is the first Sunday of Advent. Consistory asks that you continue to hold up in prayer both the church and Rev. Gram during this time of transition. Once the call process is completed Rev. Gram will be moving into the parsonage across the street from the church. Please click here to view additional information about Rev. Gram.
September 15, 2008 Congregational Letter.
Dear Congregation,
The Consistory of the Hurley Reformed Church is pleased to announce that the candidate for pastor recommended by the Search Committee will lead the worship service on Sunday, October 5, 2008. This is an important day in the life of our church and we encourage all to attend. At the conclusion of the service the Consistory will conduct a vote of church members in order to obtain " the will of the congregation." It is important have as many members in attendance as possible to get your "will." Your vote is one of several factors to be considered before the Consistory extends a "call" to this candidate.
This has been a long, yet educational journey we have all been on. Your patience and prayers have led us to this point in the process. We look forward to seeing you all in the church on Sunday, October5, 2008!
Yours in Christ,
The Consistory of the Hurley Reformed
Church
July, 2008 Spire report. We were able to meet with two candidates this month for in-depth interviews. At this writing, one was invited to preach at a local church for us to further evaluate. Because of the deadline date for this Spire, we are not able to provide you with any further information at this time. We are working very hard to bring this search to a satisfactory conclusion for our church. Please continue to keep this process in your prayers both for us and for the candidates. Thank you.
June, 2008 Spire report. We are happy to report that we have turned the corner in this process and will be interviewing two highly qualified candidates this month. We have spoken to both via conference calls.... we still like them and they still like us! They are different in many ways yet both bring strengths that you indicated we need. PLEASE continue to pray for us and them, seeking God's direction and His will for our congregation.
May, 2008 Spire report. After a long winter of snow and profile reading, the search committee welcomes spring and the promise of progress in our quest for a permanent pastor. Most recently we have been reviewing videotapes, CDs and DVDs sent to us by potential candidates. As a result of that process, we have contacted references that the candidates supplied and have narrowed our list again. We are now speaking directly to a few people via conference calls with a list of questions that we have either about information they provided to us on their profiles or that we need to have answered as a result of our church's needs. We have been reminded that even with all this "sifting and sorting"; the candidate also has to feel called to our church as well. Please continue to keep the search process in your prayers as we continue down this road together.
February, 2008 Spire report. The Search Committee is happy to report that we are making some positive progress in the search for our new pastor. We have received several profiles from the denominational headquarters, the Church Herald advertisement, and even from the pastoral grapevine. Out of all that, there are a few that we feel might be a good match for us. Now we need to move the candidates off the paper and continue the process by interviewing them, first by phone, then in person. While these candidates may be looking for a new church, and we may like the way they sound on paper, they may not be interested in our particular church or in our location, etc. We ask for your continued prayers, support and patience as we all continue along this journey. We are grateful for your understanding during this process, for the advice and support from our supervisor Rev. Howard Smith, and for the continuing faithful leadership of Pastor Bob. Thank you.
Congregational Meeting November, 2007 The Pastoral Search Committee has worked diligently over the past year and is on task in our endeavor to hire a new pastor. The Reformed Church of America has a specific set of guidelines which the Committee must follow in conducting our search. The Search Committee Ws appointed in August of 2006 and met with Rev. Jon Norton of the Regional Synod to discuss the pastoral search process. The Reformed Church of America has a Pastoral Search Handbook for our Committee to follow. We also refer to the Alban Guide to Managing the Pastoral Search Process.
First, an “exit interview” was conducted with Reverend Stickley and members of both the Consistory and the Pastoral Search Committee. The Search Committee held it’s first official meeting in August of 2006 where officers were elected, and the process was divided into tasks for various subcommittees. The RCA requests that a self study of the congregation is completed. A subcommittee was formed to develop the Congregational Survey which was administered in November of 2006. This was a major endeavor requiring multiple meetings of both our committee and the Survey Subcommittee. The data was compiled and presented to the Consistory on May 14th and to the Congregation on May 20th 2007.
During this period Classis assigned us a Supervisor, Rev. Rich Rockwood, of the Saugerties Reformed Church. He met with us for the first time on November 29th, 2006. He assisted our
Committee in developing the congregational Survey and he gave us some very helpful insight regarding the Book of Church Order. Reverend Rockwood retired in the spring and Classis appointed our committee a new Supervisor, The Rev. Howard Smith of High Woods Reformed Church, Whom we met on May 16, 2007. He has been a valuable asset to our committee, guiding us through a complicated process.
The information compiled from the surveys is used to complete a Church Profile which is sent to the RCA Office of Ministry Services in New York City. There, our Church Profile is matched with prospective candidates. The Church Profile Subcommittee met throughout the spring and summer compiling the Church Profile, with input from the Consistory. The completed Profile was approved by the Consistory on September 10, 2007. The Profile was immediately sent to the RCA Office of Ministry Services. An advertisement has been placed in the upcoming December and January issue fo the Church Herald. A letter advertising the position was sent to the Clerk of the Mid-Hudson Classis, and to all of the RCA stated clerks.
The Pastoral Search Committee has held twenty meetings as a full Committee. Seven subcommittees have met countless times over the past year completing various aspects of the Search Process. The Chairs have met separately with the Classis Supervisors and with Consistory. We are working hard and diligently on your behalf, following the required process provided by the RCA in selecting a new pastor.
The Search Committee is presently receiving Ministerial Profiles, letters of inquiry and résumé’s, and have begun the process of reviewing this information. The next step will be contacting potential candidates and conducting interviews. The process requires a three way agreement between the candidate, Classis, and our Church. When the Committee narrows this down to prospective candidates, they will travel to hear and interview those candidates. When the Committee decides on a prospective candidate, finds all is in order and is satisfied in their examination, that candidate will be recommended to the Consistory. During this time the Candidate’s credentials will be reviewed by the Human Support Committee of the Classis. With the Consistory and Classis approval, the Candidate will be invited to visit and preach for the Congregation. The Congregation will be notified of this and information about our prospective new pastor will be disseminated for your review. The will of the Congregation will be sought prior to issuing a call and Installation of a new pastor. The Consistory with the help of the Human Support Committee will negotiate the final terms of the call, and a starting date will be finalized.
Please be patient and pray. The Search Committee, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is working hard to complete the task of seeking a new pastor. The members of the Search Committee and the Consistory are all volunteers. We are at least as anxious as you are for the selection of a new pastor.
Respectfully,
Melinda Herzog, Co-Chair Dick Morone, Co-Chair
October, 2007
The
Search Committee is delighted to report that we have finally moved on to the
next, and very important, phase of the search. That is, we have begun to
receive profiles from available candidates for our church. These are being sent
by the RCA office so the candidates do not yet know that we are reading their
profiles and may not be interested in relocating to our area. There is matching
done as far as strengths of the candidates and our priorities, based on our
profile, are concerned. We will keep you informed about the progress as we move
through this next stage. As a reminder, above are listed the names of the search
committee for your information.
June, 2007 The Search Committee administered a survey to the congregation asking for their feelings on the future of the Hurley Reformed Church and their expectations for a new pastor. Information about the survey and the data it yielded may be viewed by clicking here.
May 2007
May has been a productive month as we are seeing closure on some of the projects that have kept the Search Committee busy during the winter months. The presentation of the survey results has been shared with the consistory and with the congregation. The church profile will be completed by the end of this month. That needs to be approved by the consistory and then submitted to the Office of Ministry Services at the RCA headquarters in NYC. Our profile information will then be matched with the profiles of available candidates and then the selection and interview process will begin. We have been reminded that not only are we looking for who we want, but who we need under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Please keep this process in prayer as we enter the next phase of the pastoral search.
Reverend Rockwood has announced his retirement from the Saugerties Reformed Church and will be leaving the area, so Classis has appointed another supervisor to oversee our process and progress. Rev. Howard Smith, pastor at the Highwoods Reformed Church, met with the committee on May 16 to begin his journey with us.
An information packet is being prepared to
introduce candidates to our community. Also being developed are questions that will be asked of each candidate. Some of these questions will be based around doctrinal issues, concerns, and goals that were generated by the congregational survey comments. We thank you for your continued patience, support and prayers during this transitional time.April 2007
The Search Committee has continued to meet bimonthly, steadily moving forward in our search for a permanent pastor. We had a very informative meeting on March 7 with our supervisor, Rev. Rockwood. He explained, in layman's terms, the Standards of the Reformed Church. We now feel we have a respectful familiarity with the official documents that govern our denomination and how they apply to us.
The committee would like to present the findings from the congregational survey to you. There will be a special coffee hour on May 20, 2007 sponsored by the Search Committee. At this time there will be a presentation of this information along with a question and answer period. Please make every effort to attend so that you can be kept informed about the "quest" and perhaps provide us with additional input.
Please take a look at the bulletin board at the top of the stairs. There is a timeline to keep you abreast of where we are in the search process. Our next major task will be to compile a church packet that can be shared with prospective candidates. This "sales pitch" will include information about our church, activities, community, educational facilities, medical facilities, transportation, etc. Christine Henning will be chairing this important sub-committee.
Remember; mark your calendars for May 20, 2007. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
March, 2007
We have finally finished compiling the results of the congregational survey! While we all sorted through the openended responses, Jim Mayfield compiled and graphed the results of the questions that asked you to rate and rank different objectives. You gave us valuable information which we will use when we begin the process of interviewing candidates. The church profile committee has nearly completed its task, using some survey information as well as consistory contributed material.
During March, we will be meeting with our supervisor, Rev. Rockwood, who will be educating us on the Constitution of the Reformed Church. This comprises the Holy Bible, the Book of Church Order, and the doctrinal standards (Canons of the Synod of Dort, Heidelburg Catechism and Belgic Confession of Faith).
A special "thank you" to Joyce Fink who shared with us a reading from The Daily Word devotional: "It happens a lot. People love their church because they love their prophet or pastor. People leave their church because they hate their prophet or pastor. I met a woman who had been neglecting church. She recited a list of pastors she had "kind of liked," one she had "really liked," and a few she "definitely didnotlike." I finally told her: Make sure your heart is attached to the living God, not to mere human servants. If you are too attached to them, your worship will be misdirected, fickle and weak. Prophets and pastors will always fall. God never will."
So, thank you, Joyce, for the prayers and the reminder that we are searching for the messenger/spiritual leader that God has chosen for us!
January, 2007 Happy New Year from your Search Committee!
We have now begun the task of looking at the information in the congregational surveys and determining from that the direction you would like to see our next pastor take us. With just over 100 completed surveys returned, we are able to get a good idea about your feelings toward many areas on our church life. As we read through each question, your responses "cluster" around several key ideas and similar feelings. What is important to you will guide us as we interview potential pastors to lead our congregation. This process will take us several more meetings because we not only want to see how your responses look "as a whole", but also how you responded by gender and age groups. This information will be shared with the Consistory and with you. It will be compiled and sent as part of our Church Profile to Regional Synod Headquarters where the "matching" process begins.
• checking the bulletin board by the landing/staircase
• weekly bulletin announcements • Spire articles
• speaking with a Committee member
We are involved in an exciting part of our church life and appreciate your continued support and prayers. We are grateful for the leadership of Interim Pastor Bob Vanderlaan along with the guidance of Rev. Richard Rockwood. A busy 2007 awaits
us!December, 2006 As of this writing, the pastoral search committee has been busy distributing the Congregational Survey after worship services. Any surveys not picked up by members and regular attendees will be mailed after December 3, 2006. All responses are anonymous and your input is valuable and necessary. Thank you!
We met with our recently assigned Classis Supervisor on November 29. The Rev. Richard Rockwood, minister of the Saugerties Reformed Church, has agreed to work with us during our search. His responsibilities include providing advice and oversight during the search process as well as assuring that we follow denominational requirements when finally extending a call to a new minister.
Our next step will be to compile the data to include in the church profile and to use when interviewing candidates. The results of the survey, this picture of who we are, will be made available to you early in 2007.
Again, thank you for your continued prayers and support during this process.
November, 2006 The Pastoral Search Committee has been meeting regularly and making significant headway in the preliminary stages of the search for a permanent pastor. The Congregational Survey, an important first step, has been completed and will be distributed during worship on November 19th, 26th and December 4th. Please participate in this survey to insure a realistic profile of the congregations interests, needs and desires.
The Church Profile subcommittee has also begun its charge to update our profile with current data regarding many aspects of our church life. This information becomes part of the "picture" that is made available to prospective candidates.
We have been developing an understanding about the various aspects of a pastoral search. Most recently we became informed about the characteristics of a church of our congregational size and what that means and wants.
September, 2006 While we can rejoice in the fact that the church has found Reverend Robert Vanderlaan as interim pastor to shepherd us as a congregation through the difficult months ahead, the work of the pastoral search committee is just beginning.
We held our first official meeting on August 315t and began to get to know each other a little better, appointed Dick Morone and Melinda Herzog co-chairs and Joyce Pinckney secretary, and started to look at the various steps that need to be taken as we search out the man or woman God will call to be our next leader. We will be using the RCA Pastoral Search Handbook and the Alban's Pastoral Search Guide.
Over the next few weeks we will be looking at what makes the Hurley Reformed Church the special spiritual home that it is to all of us. We will try to identify our specific strengths and weaknesses, and where we would like to see the future take us. We will be asking for your input in helping us discern these things, most likely in the form of a congregational survey.
Once we have a clear understanding of who we are we will begin to review candidates to find a pastor who will be a good fit in our pulpit, and one for whom this church will be a happy home. All of this will take time, and we don't want to rush to judgment - after all we have some very big shoes to fill. We ask for your patience and your prayers throughout this process. We in turn will keep you updated through the Spire and periodic announcements during services.
While we know that everyone will be anxious to hear how things are progressing, please understand that confidentiality will not permit members of the committee or the consistory to reveal the names of any candidates we might be considering during the search. Other questions or concerns may be addressed to any search committee member or consistory search committee chairman listed below.
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