Church Board Minutes Special Meeting 2022 01 12

Church Board Minutes 2022 01 12
Special Meeting

Bethel College Mennonite Church Board Minutes

Pending approval at February 3, 2022 Board Meeting

Our faith in a God of love leads us, by the power of the Spirit, to follow Jesus in doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.

Board Members Present: Elizabeth Schmidt (moderator), Ada Schmidt-Tieszen (moderator-elect), Glen Ediger, Judy Friesen, John Kliewer, Cynthia Linscheid, Adam Robb, Lois Preheim, Dale Schrag, Margaret Toews

Board Members not present: Bill Swartley

Staff Present: Nathan Koontz (pastor), Renee Reimer (pastor)

Staff not present: None

Others attending: None

1.Welcome and Centering Prayer – Moderator Elizabeth Schmidt opened the meeting with moments of reflective silence followed by showing a short video of geese in flight and encouraging us to focus on working together and caring for each other. Elizabeth closed with a prayer.

2. Discussion of next steps in pastoral transition – Elizabeth opened the discussion which centered around the need for clarity about how to move forward with a possible transition to a shared leadership model.  Subsequent consideration focused on whether to engage a consultant and the importance of aligning expectations between the pastoral staff and the congregation. Dale Schrag offered the following motion which was seconded by Ada Schmidt-Tieszen:

The church board moves to authorize the moderator to send an RFP to engage an appropriate consultant to help us as a congregation examine new options for shared leadership which may include a team pastor model.

3. The meeting was  adjourned at 8:11 pm. Next meeting is February 3, 2022, at 7 pm.

Submitted by Margaret Toews, Clerk

Draft Church Board Minutes Special Meeting 2022 01 12.docx