Thursday, September 27, 2012

Overview of Transition Team meeting 9/25


The Emerging Unified Church of Carlisle
Overview of Transition Team Meeting
September 25, 2012

On Tuesday, September 25, 2012, the Transition Team conducted its eighth meeting.   Initially, the Transition Team evaluated Sunday’s Open Congregational Meeting.  The format and amount of time devoted to questions received high grades.  Most felt that the attendees left with a good feeling in their hearts.

Reports were received from all of the Focus Groups which number fourteen with ninety-two members.  Soon, you can expect to find available at all three campuses the written publications of each campus.  Soon, you will find that the webpages of the three campuses will have links directly to the other two and a link to a transitional webpage.  Soon you will begin to see information identifying the process to name the church.  ALL of us will have opportunities to suggest names and ALL will be able to vote on November 18 for the new name.  Absentee accommodations will be met, and the new name will be first presented on December 2.  Soon you will receive an insert to sign up for the new unified prayer chain. 

Some of our work is very tedious, legalistic, and driven by conference, borough and state rules and regulations.   For example, the Incorporation Focus Group will be reviewing all of the existing deeds of which there are many.  The Administrative Structure Focus Group is reading and using a book in its pursuit to identify the best administrative framework on which to build our new church and additionally is using Dennis Otto as a resource.  The Child Care Focus Group has been studying its options in order to maintain the two programs for preschool children and will be making its recommendation at our next meeting.  Meanwhile the Physical Assets Focus Group has been reviewing all of the recent inventories at the three campuses, preparing a standardized inventory sheet and identifying decisions which will have to be made about a lot of stuff – like many pianos.  Soon, the Worship Focus Group will be discussing Sunday worship schedules and types of worship styles and then making recommendations to the Transition Team.

From the outset of our work, the Transition Team has been fully supported and undergirded with prayers.  We appreciate the Prayer Team which weekly prays specifically for us. We appreciate that the Transition Team remains a weekly prayer concern on our unified prayer sheet.  We appreciate that others have begun praying for us, too.  The prayer group at St. Patrick’s has just added us to their prayer list.  We know the power and strength of prayers and have now seen it firsthand as this Transition Team has really come together.  We want all of you to know that we have been praying for all of you, too.  We know that this work isn’t easy.  We know that feelings and emotions can run high.  We know that the future – our future together as one – can be frightening.  God wants all of us to be together and we are fully committed to making it work every Sunday from 8 to noon and the rest of the week, too.
Transition Team
Pastoral Team                        Allison                         First                                        Grace
Jim VanZandt, Chair                Ron Axsom                 Dennis Downey, Co-chair       Colleen Kulp
Bishop Neil Irons                    Ann Cook                    Tracy Horgan                         Kerm Leitner, Sec
Mira Hewlett                           Jeff Harpel                  Debbie Washinger                   Randy Noaker
Susan Stewart                         Joanne Reynolds         Lois Weibley                           Dianne Otto
Dennis Keller, District Superintendent        
Our next scheduled meeting is Thursday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 pm.

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