Williston Federated Church

United Methodist and United Church of Christ – Federated in 1899

An Open and Affirming, Reconciling Congregation

44 North Williston Rd. Williston, VT 05495

802 878-5792 - email: - web site

July 14, 2017

Dear Members and Friends of Williston Federated Church,

After prayerful consideration and thoughtful discernment, we are delighted to announce that we have selected Rev. Paul K. Eyer for your approval to be our next settled pastor.

The search committee spent many months thinking about our congregation’s needs for a pastor and reviewed numerous United Church of Christ candidate profiles. We began our work by carefully evaluating and praying about each candidate’s ministerial profile. We met weekly through the winter and spring to dialogue about the candidates and held a long series of conversations about each of them. Soon enough, we began to narrow the pool down to a very select group we felt matched the skills and gifts our congregation hopes to see in our next pastor. Then, we conducted a series of personal interviews with this select group of candidates, and began the process of group discernment. During this time, we reflected on each interview together to understand where God was leading us. The work of group discernment was challenging, requiring us to listen carefully to one another and to call upon God’s wisdom for guidance.

After careful group discernment, we asked Paul to come to Williston for a neutral pulpit weekend in May. This allowed us all to get to know each other better. Paul led us in a Bible study and gave a formal interview that Saturday. Then, on Sunday, we all traveled to Saint Albans for worship at a church arranged for us by the VT UCC conference office. Upon experiencing Paul’s humorous and moving sermon, we were all eager to talk together about our impressions straight away. It was on that Sunday when we unanimously, and enthusiastically, voted to recommend Paul for your approval.

Paul comes to us with many skills and varied life experiences. He was an attorney in his first career. He graduated from George Washington University in 1984 with a Juris Doctor degree and he worked in that field in his law practice, and as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator David L. Boren in Washington D.C. While Paul chose to study law, his heart was never far from the church. He grew up in a family that was active in the church and even as a teenager he wondered how he could pursue a life of public service. That goal of service to others led Paul to enter the Lancaster Theological Seminary where he earned his Master of Divinity in 2006. While he was in seminary, he met his lovely wife, Jackie, who is also a UCC pastor in Pennsylvania.

Paul was a much-loved pastor at St Luke’s United Church of Christ in Lancaster, PA. where he served for four years. Since 2010, he has served as the Director of Alumni/ae and Church Relations at the Lancaster Theological Seminary where he is very successful in building financial support for the seminary. While there, he also offers his support and guidance to the seminary students and continues to be a guest preacher at area churches.

As you know, the search process was long and deliberate. Our search committee has come to know Paul over the past months through Skype interviews, e-mails, phone calls, and through spending time together over the neutral pulpit weekend. Over the course of this time, we found him to be kind, insightful, intelligent, confident, humble, gregarious, and to have a great sense of humor. His wife, Rev. Jackie Lingelbach, also shares these attributes and we are eager to have her as part of our church family.

Paul’s profile came with glowing recommendations:

“His compelling ministry, spoken from the pulpit and lived through his actions, inspires others to share their own gifts and talents.”

“He is a strategic thinker and planner with the organizational expertise to successfully develop and implement a new shared vision for organizations.”

“He is incredibly enthusiastic and upbeat. His positive attitude is contagious.”

“He passionately proclaims and shares the Gospel in ways that are invitational ratherthan judgmental.”

Paul will lead our service on July 23rd at 9:30 am in the sanctuary as part of our “Candidating Weekend.” After this service, there will be a congregational meeting to vote on whether to approve the search committee’s recommendation of Rev. Paul K. Eyer to be our next settled pastor.

There will be two social events to get acquainted with Paul and Jackie that weekend. On Friday evening, July 21st, there will be an ice-cream social, in the fellowship hall, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. On Saturday morning, there will be a light brunch from 9:30 to 11:30 am. This will be a time when everyone can get to know Paul and Jackie and to gather together with our church family. We do hope that everyone will be able to attend.

*Please help us keep Paul and Jackie’s names confidential at this point of our search. *

Please,do not share their names on social media/ online until after the congregational vote.

Thank you!

Respectfully,

Your Search Committee,

Lois Mason, Jenny Rousseau-Wege,Vicki Trueman, Tony Lamb,

Sara Moran, Matt Bliss,Ashley Dubois, Donna-Sue Hain, and Ken Stone

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