June 15, 2023
Search Committee Wrap up
In April of 2022 our congregation nominated 6 members to be a part of a committee to find our next Minister of Children and Families. That committee first met in early May. Andy Brown and I are the co-chairs and have been blessed to have Erin Joenk, Aaron Campbell, Lindsey McCullough, and Casey Carrol to round out an all-star team. We were issued a job description from our personnel committee to review and worked over the summer to draft position announcements to post through CBF and Divinity school job boards. Late summer and early fall proved to not be fruitful in any applicants submitting resumes. We then decided to meet and come up with a plan to revise the job description to open the applicant pool to those that may not have a Masters of Divinity degree. We revised the job description to include those with teaching experience and the desire to continue their education in some type of theology to include a masters or an advanced certification. The co-chairs presented this plan to the personnel committee for approval of the new job description. Therefore the position of minister or director of children and families was formed and approved.
Fast forward to late winter and early spring our push to post on the job board for round two was initiated. This would prove to be all about timing. Over a forty-five-day period during February and March, we received seven (7) resumes and cover letters. All applied had great qualifications and we again met as a committee in March to decide which to invite to a Zoom interview. We decided to interview six (6) of the seven (7). This process brought three (3) candidates that stood above all the others. The search committee convened and debated which two (2) of the three (3) we should bring to town for an in-person interview. After deliberating through meetings, phone calls, and texts it all became very clear. There was only one to bring to interview in person and tour our wonderful town and church campus. This happened on the weekend of June 2nd through 3rd. The 3-hour dinner/interview seemed more like 15 minutes. This further confirmed we had made the right choice.
Our candidate exemplified all the qualities we felt our church deserved. They demonstrated a passion unlike the others with a calm that would serve our congregation well. Their description of curriculum, leadership style, and wisdom resonated well with all of us. We, as a committee, will present more information next Wednesday, June 21st, at 6:30 pm and will be more than willing to answer any questions from the congregation. We encourage that there be a great turnout as we would like everyone to be excited to meet our choice on Saturday, June 24th, in person from 10 am – 12 pm in the fellowship hall. We hope that the choice will be clear to our congregation as it was to us on Sunday, June 25 when our congregation votes to have our next minister join our church.
Josh Pniewski
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