For those of you who did not make it to the Congregational meeting on Sunday, February 6th,
Great news! The Call Committee had chosen a candidate to recommend to Bethel’s congregation for the Associate Pastor position.

The Call Committee started out in October 2009 with initial meetings with Lori as our guide in understanding and executing the call process. Since then we have done several congregation wide sessions, small group sessions, and on line surveys to further understand and determine the needs of the congregation. This information was used to develop a Ministry Site Profile that best fit Bethel. This profile was reviewed and approved by the congregation and Church Council. A final copy was submitted to the Synod in September of 2010 for review and a list of viable candidate to fill the call. The Call Committee received a list right before Thanksgiving. Pr Randy did the first round of interviews with these candidates and provided the Call Committee with a narrowed down list of candidates to interview. The Call Committee interviewed two candidates over a two weekend period of time for a total of about 14 hours each weekend. This process included dining with the candidate on Friday evening followed by a session of questions and open discussion. Saturday we gave the candidate a drive tour of our area, of Bethel’s Church, and Bethel’s campus. The candidate had a short break for lunch and then we reconvened for more questions and discussions. We concluded the day with a potluck dinner. Our goal was to give the candidates an opportunity to relax and feel free to share as much as possible. We also wanted the candidate to get to know Bethel through the Call Committee. Once we had a candidate in mind for the position, two of the Call Committee members visited this candidate’s current congregation and listened to the sermon. They were very impressed with the sermon. The sermon was clear and engaging with the congregation.

The candidate is Gabriele Schroeder. She comes to us with a strong back ground in theology and is rich and grounded in the Spirit. We have no doubt she will be an asset to our fellowship efforts and small groups. We appreciate her gifts with children and her attachment to the wider Lutheran Church. We sense she has an innovative and creative spirit when it comes to engaging a congregation and preaching.

I have attached a letter she sent us to introduce herself before she has an opportunity to meet the congregation in person.

We pray you are just as excited as we are and look forward to the congregation meeting her.

Blessings,
Kelly Johnson

The Call for an Associate Pastor is moving forward!

Since we submitted Bethel’s Ministry Site Profile in October, Rev. Nancy Nelson has met with Pr. Randy to discuss four candidates for this call. After this discussion the list was narrowed down to three candidates. Pr. Randy has since met with these candidates to do a preliminary screening. He was very excited to provide the call committee with two very viable candidates.

The next step is to arrange interviews with these candidates. We have made contact with each and are in the process of finalizing the interview dates which are slated to be in January.

In the mean time, the Call Committee is meeting weekly to establish a list of interview questions and how these interviews will play out. It is not as simple as it may seem. For example, we want to find out who these candidates really are, where they come from (not just in location, but from their upbringing and background, etc. both personally and spiritually). First impressions can be very deceiving so we’re trying to do this in a way we allow this person to feel as comfortable as possible so as to share as much with us as possible. Now that we have their profiles we will be able to cater the questions to pull out information we need to make our decision. We also need to make sure that these questions can be used for both interviews.

To further help streamline this process we recently had an online Skype conference with a team in Lodi. A Lutheran congregation there just recently completed a successful call process. We spoke with the lead pastor, the pastor they extended the call to, and a member of the call committee. They shared their process, why they did certain things, and what worked and what didn’t.

Once we have had these interviews we will decide who we would like to recommend to the Church Council to extend the call to. Before we actually extend the call we will most likely do a meet and greet. The congregation will then have an opportunity to meet this candidate. If all goes well, the Church Council will develop a compensation package, a letter of call, and a 2/3 vote to continue the process. These will be forwarded to the Bishop and the Bishop will forward the call to the candidate. The candidate has 30 days to respond. If the candidate accepts then we’re in business! If not, then we’ll need to begin the process again. Based on Pr. Randy’s initial prescreening this is not likely to happen.

We ask that you keep the Call Committee, the Congregation, and the Candidates in your prayers.

Thank you very much,
Kelly Johnson
Chair of the Call Committee

Bethel’s Ministry Site Profile has been submitted!

The MSP—the congregation’s “resume”—is now in the hands of Rev. Nancy Nelson, bishop’s associate for the Sierra Pacific Synod. Pr. Nancy will send the description of Bethel’s associate pastor position out nationwide (the “summary” paragraph on p. 7 of the MSP), and then she will provide the Call Committee with 3–5 candidate names later this month.

Everyone on the Bethel email list has received a copy of the edits made to the MSP based on your comments. All comments were considered, and many, though not all, were incorporated into the final document. Paper copies of the edits are available in the narthex for anyone who is not on the email list.

Thanks to all who have participated in the process of discussion and discernment here these past 11 months. The time of interim ministry is a time to look at where your congregation has been, who you are now, and what God is calling you to next. So many of you have given your time and your opinions, shared your fears and your hopes, and participated in events, conversations and a survey—all to help Bethel discern how to continue to be the face of Christ in Cupertino and beyond, and what type of associate pastor can best join you in that mission!

Special thanks to the Call Committee, the Council, and Pr. Randy for their roles in this process. Your Call Committee has spent countless hours painstakingly crafting an MSP that would accurately reflect Bethel and this congregation’s mission.

Stay tuned for news about your candidates…! Meanwhile, continue to lift up Bethel, the Call Committee, the associate pastor candidates and this community in prayer.

Blessings,
Pr. Lori
Interim Associate Pastor

Kelly Johnson, chair of the Call Committee, gave an update on the call process at the Congregational Meeting on Aug. 29. Hard copies of the rough draft of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) were made available. The Call Committee plans to complete the profile at their meeting of Sept. 1, and after a final edit will submit the complete draft of the MSP to the congregation via the Bethel mailing list by early next week. Some hard copies will be available in the Narthex for those who don’t have access to email.

What YOU can do:
The congregation is asked to read the profile and give feedback: Does the MSP accurately reflect the comments and direction that have emerged in the past few months from the initial “listening post” gatherings, the two congregation-wide “profile events” and the online survey? Does it accurately reflect the congregation of Bethel? Send your feedback to Kelly. You will have two weeks to respond, and then the Call Committee will process the responses and report back if there are significant changes made to the profile. The MSP will then be sent to the Synod, which will provide candidates to the Call Committee.

Please continue to keep the Call Committee, the congregation, your current pastors and the future associate pastor in your prayers!

The Call Committee met with Rev. Nancy Nelson, bishop’s associate, for conversation about the call process on Aug. 4. Pr. Nancy explained how the Ministry Site Profile (the “congregational resume”) is used by the Synod to determine which candidates to offer to Bethel. She said that there are many pastors eager for calls in the Sierra Pacific Synod.

Pr. Nancy also challenged the Call Committee with these questions: How do we, as congregations, begin to reflect the diversity of the communities around us? Does Bethel want an associate pastor who will help you do what you already do well, or one who will help you in areas where you want to grow?

The Call Committee also had a special meeting with Pr. Randy to hear what he is interested in focusing on as a new associate is called, and what type of pastor he would work well with. Pr. Randy noted that 4 of the 5 team ministries in which he has served over the years were very successful, and that he enjoys team ministry.

Next steps: After the call committee writes the profile and it is presented to the congregation for feedback (hopefully by the end of August), the profile is sent to the Synod, where 3–5 candidates will be matched with Bethel. The call committee will interview all candidates and choose one to present to the congregation at a “meet and greet” on a Sunday prior to the congregational vote to call. The Council will put together the salary/benefits package.

Kelly Johnson is chair of the Call Committee. Please keep her, the entire committee, the pastors and people of Bethel congregation, and the pastor who is yet to come in your prayers daily!

• Community Outreach/Fellowship — We will focus on offering congregation-wide service projects, increasing fellowship opportunities, and presenting “non-threatening” activities for inviting people into this community.
• Leadership — We will create a position for someone who will help us in connecting visitors, new members and existing members to be engaged in ministry.
• Worship — We will continue to emphasize more variety in technology, visual arts, drama and movement in worship.
• Education — We will expand faith development for all ages, particularly in offering regular Bible classes for adults.