The Word from Rick: Ch...ch...ch..changes

Over the final five months of 2015, this presbytery and some of its ministry units took actions that, as we move through January and deeper into this year, will have a major effect on how we do our ministry together. Additionally, there will be other actions taken in this current year that will determine how this presbytery will be led deeper into its future.

With the start of the new year, we embarked on a new way of managing the presbytery’s financial resources. With Virginia Molitor’s retirement coming at the end of March, the presbytery engaged the Synod of Lakes and Prairies to handle the major share of our financial work. The synod had already been doing our payroll for us, and now they will be providing much more of the day-to-day accounting, check-writing, bill-paying, and record-keeping functions for us – which they already do for at least six other presbyteries. There will be a learning curve here, but we believe that this is a prudent decision for us. Virginia and Karen are committed to working with the synod staff and with our churches to make this transition as painless and effective as positive as possible.

As of January 1st, an action that the presbytery took in Canby on August 4, 2015 now comes into play. On that day, the presbytery approved our new Ministry Plan. The provisions of this plan are now what guides our life and ministry as a presbytery. All presbytery units will focus their activities in ways that will live out the intentions of that plan. Living into the plan will provide a second learning curve as we move forward.

On March 1st, the new Mission Design approved in October will take effect. The current committee structure will cease to exist and the new commissions, along with some support committees and teams will begin working. In some places, the responsibilities of two or more committees were brought together and in other places some responsibilities were separated out. New patterns of decision making and accountability will take shape. Our volunteers who serve as commission, committee, and team members will find themselves in what might feel like a different world. We will learn by doing and living into what has been created by the Next Pres Team and approved by you all as the way that we will do ministry.

On Monday morning, I meet with our Committee on Representation, the people that have been tasked with nominating the people who will serve in the new design – both the members of these units of presbytery’s mission, but those who will be the first chairpersons. As the COR has done its work, they have received far more “yes’s” than “no’s”, even though some folks, even though many folks are still wondering what they have agreed to do. New things are always a source of some uneasiness, but we are grateful for those who have agreed to step forward in spite of the uneasiness and help launch this new thing!

As I look down the road with all of you, February 20 will be a most important day as we seek to put the legs under this new design. We realize the living into the design will take time, and that we must learn to walk before we can go running into the future. On that day, we will take those first baby steps and hopefully by the end of the day, we might feel ready to at least jog into what’s next.

On February 20, we will have an Orientation Gathering in Redwood Falls. Everyone who has been asked to serve on one of the presbytery’s commissions or committees is being asked to attend this gathering. That day will begin with a chairpersons’ briefing from 9:00-10:15 a.m., and beginning at 10:30, all commission and committee members will gather. There will be one final orientation to the Ministry Plan and Mission Design, and then all of units (commissions and committees) will have their organizational meetings, where they will set meeting dates, determine how they will work as a team, and most importantly, share ideas and set their ministry priorities for 2016. It is our prayer that people will leave Redwood Falls ready to dig into the tasks at hand.

We are getting ready to begin some that, while it might not seem all that new, has the potential to be quite different. There will be some bumps along the way, but bumps can be smoothed out when we take the time and energy to work together to do the smoothing. Living into this new design will require a great deal of patience, not only on the part of those serving in this new design, but from those within our congregations.

I am hopeful for the future of this design, and give thanks for those who helped to create it and all of those who we help us live into it. This is about all of us now believing in what has been created and committing ourselves to make it happen; it is about all of us praying for and supporting us as we walk and then run together into God’s future.

Grace and Peace to you all,

Rick