COMMITTEE NAMED AND SEARCH PROCESS UNDERWAY
Since the final term for our Regional Ministers ends in 2019, we are pleased to inform you that the Search Committee for the Regional Minister of the Pacific Southwest Region (PSWR) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has been approved by the PSWR Regional Board. With representation from the diverse expressions of the PSWR, the Committee shares a sense of humbleness and gratitude for being called to this important task. In our first meeting, held on March 3, 2018 at First Christian Church, Orange, we affirmed that this is a sacred journey upon which we have embarked. In addition to getting to know each other and learning our way around video-conferencing software, we established a timeline and scheduled meetings through May 2019, at which time we will present a candidate to the Regional Board. While this seems like a long time from now, there is much to do, and we will call upon you, the Regional Church, to participate in the process.
2018-2019 Search Committee: (Top photo, L-R): Tom Perring, Larry Morris, Carol Warsaw, Lydia Yang, Joi Robinson, Louise Sloan-Goben, Cathy Perring, Ben Bohren, Rogelio Martinez, Ed Ramolete. (Lower photos, L-R): Janette Jara, Judy Hong, Rip Rippentoe, Shobie Lopez.
Sandy Messick, Regional Minister, Northwest Region
To help us with our search, Sandy Messick, Regional Minister from the Northwest Region has agreed to serve as our "Regional Minister Search Partner," and we are truly grateful that she answered "yes" to this call. The next step in our process is to spend a day with Sandy. We will participate together in Pro-Reconciliation and Anti-Racism training then Sandy will lead us in spiritual practices that will ground us in faith and bind us together as a Committee seeking to serve God faithfully in this diverse Region. Sandy will be an ongoing resource as we move forward.
Critical to our search process is the development of a PSWR regional profile and Regional Minister Position Description. To inform these documents, we will gather information from the Region through surveys, discussion forums, and interviews of the various ministries of the Region. This will be the time when you have an opportunity to express your views about the current and future direction of the Region, and what you would like to see in our next Regional Minister.
To close, in recognition of the central role God plays in our process, our Committee has committed to be in prayer with each other every Thursday at 7:00pm. Regardless of where we are physically located, this prayer time will spiritually bond us. We invite you to join us in this prayer life.