Muskingum Valley Presbytery 109

June 25, 2009

Beloved in Christ,

As you know, Jim Spain will be completing his service as Business Administrator on August 30, 2009 in order to accept the call of the Unity Presbyterian Church to serve as their pastor. His last day in the office will be Thursday, July 30th; he will then take the month of August to complete his vacation and catch up on well-earned comp time. Among the many things Jim has accomplished are:

the transition of the office staff as we aligned ourselves and our respective ministries to God’s missional call;
information technology upgrades, including a new server that will allow for offsite access by both staff and leaders and a state of the art copier;
the renovation of the office which will allow us now to better host small retreats and conferences, as well as committee and mission interest group meetings (Note: With the renovations complete, we will now be able to host the Commissioned Lay Pastor Transformation training on site as opposed to the seminary, thereby cutting the cost of the training in half);
the implementation of new financial procedures which incorporate best practices and ensure accountability.

He has literally put himself out of a job.

In response to the upcoming transition, Council, Administration and we have worked to discern our staffing needs in this current context. Our focus now shifts from internal to external as we seek to serve and support you in ever more intentional ways. That Debbie’s time might continue to be freed up to coach, train and equip, we are recommending a 2/3 time Associate General Presbyter.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Over the last month, we have reviewed both process and position design with Mark Tammen, Director of Constitutional Services and Associate Stated Clerk of the Office of the General Assembly, and Margaret Haney, Interim Synod Executive. We have also sought the input and council of several sister presbyteries. Attached is the position description. Please note that there will be no impact to the budget.

As you will see, the Associate will continue to provide oversight of several areas that were previously covered by the Business Administrator (such as addressing Board of Pension questions and coordination of loans), but our focus will now be on developing better structural support to the mandated committees of presbytery as we seek to support and resource you in heeding God’s missional call.

Per the instruction of the Office of the General Assembly, we will be following the process as outlined below:

30 day posting (through Friday, July 24th);Interviews to be conducted by General Presbyter as head of staff as authorized by Council;
Recommendation of candidate to Council and Administration no later than Friday, July 31. (Please note that this process differs from that of calling an associate pastor to a local congregation as outlined in the Book of Order);
Presentation of candidate to presbytery on Thursday, August 6th;
Start date: September 1, 2009.

As you can see, this is a tight time line. But, we believe, with God’s help, that we can complete the process over the next six weeks. As you can imagine, we are deeply hopeful that we will have this person on board by the fall so that we might not lose the momentum that has been building.

Here is where we need your help. Please cover this process in prayer. Should you or someone you know sense a potential call from God, please send Erin Shilling your resume electronically to Erin@MVPJourneyingwithJesus.org by no later than Friday, July 24th. Please note that the duties of this position require that applicants be either an ordained elder or minister of word and sacrament.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call either one of us or a member of either Council or Administration.

Summertime blessings to you all!

With joy,

Paula Lane Deborah Rundlett

Chair, Mission Coordinating Council General Presbyter