Over the past few weeks, members of the Church Structure Inquiry (CSI) Committee have been meeting with appointed members of the newly formed Governing Task Force (GTF).  The goal of these meetings is to communicate the recommendations made by CSI regarding a new church structure and how and why the CSI committee members arrived at these recommendations.  In addition the two groups are working to define the steps and timeline needed to implement the recommended changes in structure, including discussions on how to engage the Congregation in this process.

At the most recent meeting, Reverend Nancy was asked to attend to discuss how she can play an active role in the restructuring, in her official capacity as Interim Pastor.  Nancy has pledged her support to the Task Force members and has committed to working closely with them as the new structure is being defined and rolled out to the Congregation.  Her role will be further defined, but the consensus is that she will be engaging members of the congregation in discussions about how elements of the existing structure will fit into the new structure, taking into consideration our church traditions and our history as a Federated Church.

             The Task Force is now preparing to begin their appointed work, by writing proposed changes to the bylaws and developing new church policies which further define the proposed new structure.  The goal is to develop a body of work that will be sufficient to bring forward to the Congregation in anticipation of a trial year.  More information about the actual timeline for these changes and the start of a trial period will be communicated to the Congregation at the appropriate time.  Originally it was hoped that this trial period could be launched in 2012, and that goal may still be realistic once the group is fully engaged in the process of writing policies.  Look for updates to this process in subsequent Spirelite articles.

One thing related to the appointment of the Governing Task Force has caused confusion to members of the Congregation and has created some additional work for the nominating committee.  In the previous CSI presentations regarding the new structure it was communicated that the size of some of the existing church structure would be reduced or eliminated.  In fact the formation of the Operations Group, which is a combination of the Finance Board, HR and Admin Board and Building Board, is a model that is consistent with some of the proposed changes.

As a result of these anticipated changes, there is a perception that it is not necessary to fill open positions on Boards as defined by the current structure.  After some discussion at Council and also at the joint Task Force meetings, there is a consensus that wherever possible these positions should still be filled.  In the event that we go into a trial year in 2012, members of these Boards will be asked whether they will prefer to work in these ministries in leadership roles or in the capacity of mission partners.  The good news is that there will be plenty of opportunity for all members of the Congregation to participate in an important way.  If you have any questions regarding open Board positions, please see any member of the nominating committee.

Also, please feel free to discuss the new church structure with any member of the Governing Task Force: Chip Mercurio, Pam Guild, Doug Davis, Joanne Cummings, Vern Gaw , Liz Salo OR Phil Holman (CSI Chair)