From Pastor Gail
We are saying Good-Bye to Joey and Hannah after Joey has lead our worship music for 2 ½ years. We have appreciated his service and will miss them both. Last Sunday was his last Sunday to lead. We wish them God's best in their new life in Arizona. The Leadership team agreed at its last meeting to replace Joey with Gene and Debbie Leutzinger. They will be working as a team and bring a lot of experience to our worship. They will also be leading music at Genesis, so will leave church each week before Pastor Dave's message. We are arranging to have others ready to lead the music at the end of the service. We welcome Gene and Debbie this week. They will also introduce us to some of the singers from Genesis. Our musicians will be working closely together as a single music team. We believe that this approach will increase the quality of the music and also bring our two churches closer together.
Our Elders have been meeting with the elders from Genesis, talking about the ongoing relationship between the two churches. We have done some things together, and we share a preaching pastor (and he is a good one). Now we are sharing our music team. The talks are very meaningful. We do not know the outcomes, but we trust God to lead us all.
I have said that I am considering retirement. I do want to continue to work, but my role is changing with my age. We continue to look at a much younger pastor to assume many of my duties. We have approached the issue carefully, with much discussion of roles and job descriptions and budgets. We have also been very sensitive to his current ministry. So far our indicators have all been positive. The leadership team will have to appoint a search team to officially and carefully examine the candidate before bringing him to the congregation. We will present a budget before the end of March to show how this would all work financially. We will continue to meet with the Genesis elders to explore how this new pastor would affect our working relationship.
I am excited at the good spirit of our church. I am excited about what God will do here in the future. Your prayers are always needed and appreciated.