It is hard for me to believe that it has been over 2 months since that Sunday morning when I announced that my family was going to be moving to Dublin next summer. (2 months and it still feels weird to write that sentence.)

One of the first things that we did was start gathering a group of Ithaca Vineyard members to form a Pastoral Search Team (PST). One of the things that we wanted to be careful of as we did this was ensuring that those who were making the commitment to be on the team, actually had the time to do this well. We wanted to make sure especially that none of our kinship group leaders were also on the the PST, even though they all would have done a great job, because we recognize that the job they have is already time intensive.

At this point our team has been filled out fully, and I wanted to introduce them all to you…there are 10 members on the PST. Four church council members, and 6 other church members. In selecting people to be part of this team we wanted a group that represented the overall church well, and in hearing back from many of you, I think there is a consensus that we have a great group of people on this team.  Here they are:

Council Members:
James Cherian, Steve Clark, Bill Williams, & me

Non-Council Members:
Wale Adio, Ariel Beverly, Ivan Daykov, Judy Malys, Dan Stevens & Chekesha Watson.

If you ever have any questions, want an update, or are wondering how to pray more effectively, please ask any of them.  We have currently met 3 times, we have had great discussions, and I’m even more excited than before about the group we’ve gathered here.

Monthly Feedback:
One of the things we are trying to do as much as possible is keep everyone interested as informed as we can about how the process is going. Bill Williams gave an update this past Sunday, but the thing with that is, not everyone is there every week.

An idea the PST came up with to do this more effectively is to utilize the fact that we do a monthly combined service on the last Sunday of each month.  So, starting on October 30, we’ll have breakfast together @ 9:15….a 10 am service…and then after the service, the PST will be available in the cafe to give updates and answer any questions that we can.

I think this will be a great help. Of course we’ll continue to use other means to keep you up-to-date as well.

Speaking of updates:
While we are still accepting applications, we are currently reviewing resumes, and watching/listening to teaching/speaking of the candidates we currently have. I’m pretty excited about the group we have so far, and each week it becomes more and more clear that God is in this process!

Pray & Fast:
Thanks to everyone who has been praying and fasting for this process. If you haven’t been, and the Vineyard is your church, I hope you’ll join us in seeking God’s face for this important time in the life of the Ithaca Vineyard.