10/4/22 – We have a Consultant!

I suspect that it seems like council moved at a glacially slow pace over the past 3 months. Interviewing is a slow process, even more so during vacations. But we are on the go now!

Fred is enjoying his brief Sabbatical after retiring from Hospice. He told me this morning that he will be quite bored by Nov 1^st, ready to begin his work with us. And we have a plan for moving his office to the Lindsay Room—with many pieces working together.

And now we have a consultant. The Rev. Dr. Karen McClintock is a Methodist Minister and a trained consultant with a very long CV. She has given me guidance with some pro-bono time. She wrote the following paragraph to introduce herself to our Conference Minister, Tyler Connoly:

“I have been providing congregational consultations and trainings for clergy for the past twenty years, with some overlap with the Alban institute in those first years.  I have six published books for clergy and congregations.  Each book has a one day workshop I offer on that topic.  The newest book, Trauma-Informed Pastoral Care (Fortress Press 2022), grew out of my on-line courses for clergy in the grief of Covid-19, Black-Lives Matter movement, and Fire trauma suffered by many Oregonians.”

Tyler endorsed her working for us. She has been quietly attending our church during the past 5 years, mostly on zoom, and has not been a party to any of the conflict. I have found two of her books to be quite helpful in understanding some of the ways in which we have unhealthy interactions in our church. You see, I am a numbers person trying to figure all of this out.

We are excited to have her join our next Council meeting to learn more of her plans with us. I know that everyone will be expected to join in this experience of healing.