A Message from the Search Committee

Dear Members,

The Search Committee is thrilled to announce that candidates for pastor of our church will conduct the service on March 23, after which there will be a congregational vote. We want to share with you some of the search process and how we arrived at our decision.

Our Associate Conference Minister was immensely helpful throughout the process and encouraged us to finish preparation of our church profile, so candidates could apply. Early in the search process, we had our first meeting with the first applicants, Tim and Susie Grade (Grod’ e). Each of us on the Search Committee was simultaneously hopeful and trying not to be hopeful. The first interview was in person and was nearly two hours long. After they left, there was silence for a brief time, then almost simultaneously each of us said, “I really liked them!”

We met as a committee regularly and determined other information we would like from them. Several of our conversations were through Zoom, which we also found extremely helpful in becoming better acquainted. There were a couple of “bumps in the road”, but it became obvious that we all wanted Tim and Susie to be our next pastors. We thought deeply about the characteristics of pastors during the times this church has thrived. Susie and Tim demonstrated so many of these. They love the church as an institution. They have talked about other work they have done and have realized they feel called to be in the church. They are clearly people who are spiritually authentic, with integrity, who genuinely care about people. They have interest in leading, educating and providing meaningful worship experiences and great interest in developing ways to build bridges between the church and the wider community. Both of them possess many skills and gifts well-suited for the needs of this congregation.

Your Search Committee unanimously and whole-heartedly recommends them after much soul-searching on our parts. What will be different is that they are two pastors, serving a total of 3/4 time, 30-34 hours/week. As much as we wanted to hire them full-time, we finally recognized that with the current attendance, that would not be fiscally responsible. This will be new for us and will require flexibility and patience by all of us.

With a successful candidate Sunday, the Grades will begin work June 1, after their children Russell and Lyla finish the school year in Colorado. Please join us on March 23 for the service, with the congregational vote immediately after the service, followed by a reception in Fellowship Hall.

Your Search Committee,

Carla Chropkowski,
Jane Eberly,
Marilyn Norden,
Jan Winnicki,
Tom Winquist