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Bethel Believers:
Saturday the synod council of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod voted to approve the disaffiliation of Bethel Lutheran Church from the ELCA. The vote was unanimous but is contingent upon Bethel reaching an agreement on a promissory note to repay a grant (a verbal agreement exists that needs to be followed by written documentation).
This is the last step in the process of Bethel leaving the ECLA; next comes the process to join the NALC. This process has its steps as well and more information will be shared soon.
This process has been an arduous one. Unfortunately my energy for this effort has run out. At the January council meeting I resigned from Bethel church council to let a strong team take this process forward from here. Please congratulate Bart Burrow on his new role as Bethel church council president!
January 2012 is turning out to be a month of change. Pastor Doug's RE:boot theme is so appropriate! Two additional resignations from church council (Anna Renner and Martha Helms) and our mutual ministry chair (Chris Renner) take effect at the end of the month. As you know Pastor Wade will also be ending his time at Bethel January 31.
The Mutual Ministry Committee works behind the scenes to ensure good interactions between pastors and parish along with numerous other tasks. Chris' vacancy needs to be quickly filled. Recognizing the key role mutual ministry plays in the healthy functioning of the church, the church council appointed David Day to be a leader of this committee (this appointment requires him to step down from church council). David is a past church council president and his term on council was to be finished in June in any case. He will serve this committee and continue to serve Bethel well.
With the last step of leaving the ELCA in place, a congregation meeting will be scheduled for February with a full agenda. More information on this meeting will be shared soon. The agenda will cover:
- Bethel's 2012 Budget & Stewardship Campaign
- NALC Constitution
- New Church Council Members
In this exciting time at Bethel, the opportunities for involvement and leadership have never been so open. In your devotional time take a moment to consider what God is calling you to do.
This email winds up my last responsibility as council president. Despite the challenges I consider my time on council to be my 'Million Dollar Moment' (to use a phrase from Pastor Wade's sermon ) that I wouldn't trade for a million dollars (nor would I choose to repeat it for the same amount!) I was called by God to be in at this time and this place and I wonder what He has in store for me next.
In Peace,
Tim Sherrill
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