Pastor’s Message by Interim Pastor Bob Friese

Energetically at Work!

Jesus said, “We need to be energeti-cally at work for the One who sent me here” (John 9:4). In my humble opinion, this congregation has been energetically at work since I joined as your interim pastor one year ago.

For starters, more than 100 members participated in a Church Assessment Survey in the fall of 2017. The infor-mation gathered has educated us about who we are and where we are going. We are now better equipped to shape our future based on the needs, resources, and ex-pectations of our congregation and community. I am con-vinced that many people took the survey due to the per-suasive efforts of many council members! Good work!

There have been several “listening sessions” held over the last year. We had two to review the survey results. Two more were about worship, and two for the Transi-tion Team to share updates and receive feedback. In addition, Pastor John Sutherland, Assistant to the Bishop, chaired a meeting that helped explain the ins-and-outs of calling a new pastor. On many Sundays I have reminded the congregation that anyone can attend council meet-ings, and several members did so on two occasions.

It was encouraging to hear Pastor Sutherland tell me that he had a wonderful time here. He experienced friendliness, a healthy sense of community, and renewed hope for the future as he engaged with PLC folks.

For a good number of months now, Church Council members have given reports at worship on the Sundays following their monthly meetings. Their desire is to keep the PLC church family updated – as soon as possible – about what’s going in our congregation.

Last fall, Kristi Johnson stepped up to help with 8th grade confirmation (and other related things) and knocked it out of the park with her commitment and expertise. A good number of leaders (6th grade teacher Kathy Forster and confirmation mentors, for example) made our Wednesday nights fun and successful. We were excited when Patty Brown became our Sunday School Superintendent last fall, and she continues to do an amazing job. The good news is that she will continue in this roll for the upcoming school year. Plus, as I write this note to you, we are in the process of hiring a new part-time Youth Ministry Coordinator.

The Transition Team met faithfully for many months this year, and created an excellent, detailed Ministry Sight Profile (MSP). The MSP is basically the “job description” for potential pastors. Their good work was handed off to our Call Committee, which has now met five or six times. And very recently, we have hired a new accountant who is ridiculously competent and a joy to work with. Her name is Deb Nelson, but FYI, she’s not PLC member Deb Nelson, who is famous for being mother to Steven, Bob-by, and Leslie!

All these things, plus all the other daily, weekly, and monthly efforts of Peace Lutheran members, have kept us energetically doing God’s good work, and that is rea-son to rejoice. As always, there is a lot of work to do. Ministries are being assessed and tweaked, created and recreated, as fall approaches. God is at work here, through the hands and hearts of our church family, and our future looks bright!

In closing, I hope you all had some time of rest and refreshment this summer. Keep an eye out for infor-mation about what fall will bring to PLC and jump in! May our enthusiasm and work of the Holy Spirit keep PLC relevant and faithful!
P.S. However long I am called t

Peace,

Pastor Bob