February Ministerial Search Update
Don’t ask; we won’t tell.
Can you be patient for a little longer? We are as eager to share the good news as you are to hear it, but there are very good reasons to keep the search confidential. Think back on your own job hunting experiences and you will see why. When you first start out, you might not tell anyone you are even looking. Maybe you are not so sure you will leave. Maybe you will only leave if you get a really great offer. Maybe announcing your departure early would severely constrain your effectiveness in your current position. Ministers in search face all of these dilemmas.
Looking ahead, the search committee wants to create the best conditions for success and longevity. We do not want to open a debate about the merits of each candidacy and risk having a church divided about what path to take. We do not want the cloud of “what might have been” to linger over a new ministry. No one wants to take a job as the second choice candidate. When the congregation votes to call a minister in April, we want everyone to be able to support the ministry unconditionally.
So we all have to wait. We still have people to interview, churches to visit, references to call. We are working hard to identify a candidate in early March, to enter negotiations on Monday, March 15, and to announce our recommendation soon after. Circle Sunday, April 18, on your calendar: it is the first day - of many to come, we hope! - that you will see our new minister in TJMC’s pulpit.
