Session Notes: May 2024

Your Session sat for its regular monthly meeting last week.  Rev. Erin Counihan, pastor of Church of the Pilgrims, served as moderator.  Rev. Carla Gorrell, co-chair of the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry, also joined us.  Two weighty agenda items awaited our attention.

First, though, we finished our exegesis of Rev. Joan Gray’s book, “Sailboat Church”.  It’s been our spiritual pole star this year.  Sailboat churches go where the Spirit leads them; rowboat churches are limited by human energy and imagination.   The Holy Coy survey confirmed that Western is a quintessential rowboat church.

The lesson is – in this liminal time, we need the faith and discipline to listen for the murmurs of the Spirit. 

To the business at hand…Our clergy guides reviewed the route we must travel to call a Designated Pastor.  As we’ve said before, the Presbytery takes an active role in this process that saves us substantial time compared to past experience.  But this doesn’t mean that things go quickly.  It’s apparent that this process will take months (but not years) to complete.

By the way, you can see for yourself what’s involved – here’s a link to a Presbytery resource.

Switching gears, the Session also adopted the Building for the Future task force’s report first recommendation - to expand Miriam’s Kitchen’s use of our building with a concomitant assumption of costs and responsibilities by MK.  This is far from a “done deal” and requires the consent of Miriam’s, on one hand, and the Presbytery (who holds all church property in common) on the other.  So far, all parties are enthusiastic about moving forward, but the devil, as they say, is in the details.

We are very grateful for the time and effort of this task force. 

If you’re reading between the lines, you’ve perceived a theme.  The more we learn about these two transformational projects – the pastor and the building – the more time and effort is involved.  Your Session is up to (and eager for) the challenge, but more than ever requires the benefit of your “unity and community”.

Thank you, as always, for your encouragement and support.