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The MAM Vision Team gathered for the first time last Saturday, November 6 with the church consultant, Shayne McNichols.
The members of the MAM Vision Team are: Emily Baker Vanika Brandon Viola Jackson Cleveland Annette Hall Maggie Hollis Michelle Loyd-Paige Oscar Mares Jr. Leela Thomas Parrish Melissa Roessing Shandra Smith Kristin Travers* AJ Westendorp* Dawn Williams* John Yelding *denotes Consistory representative
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As we are enthusiastically moving forward with a church consultant who will be working alongside the Vision Team, Consistory and congregation in the coming months, we are grateful that the Holland RCA Classis has approved a grant of up to $10,000 to help us cover these expenses.
The next Consistory meeting will be Wednesday, October 6 at 7pm in the Blue Room. Any questions, thoughts, comments? Reach out to the Consistory at MAMConsistory@gmail.com or Pastor Emily at pastorofflourishing@gmail.com. The Consistory met on 9/15, and we are pleased to share with you the report from the Next Steps Survey (copies available in narthex or CLICK HERE).
Over the next two weeks, we will be forming the Vision Team, a faithful and diverse group of MAMily who will serve as leadership in this time of transition. They will help guide the congregation through a process of grief and loss, as well as help us in discerning questions of the church’s identity such as “who are we now?” and “who do we want to be?” Our hope is that these next essential steps in the process will be significantly valuable when the Vision Team moves into an active search process for the next lead pastor of MAM. In addition, we are enthusiastically moving forward with a church consultant who will be working alongside the Vision Team, Consistory and congregation in the coming months. We will share more information about this person and most likely invite them to a meet-and-greet once an official contract has been signed. Pastor Emily has applied for a grant with the Holland RCA Classis to cover the costs of this expense. And again, we are so grateful to be blessed by the leadership of MAMily preachers and worship leaders during this time. THANK YOU to all who faithfully serve, pray and give (financially) during this time so that we may remain together, always together.
We are blessed to receive Rev. Dan Carter from our church partner, Calvary on 8th, to serve as the supervisor of our Consistory until the next pastor is installed at MAM, per the RCA Church polity (the governing rules and guidelines of the denomination). Pastor Dan will serve as a supporting presence to the Consistory and Pastor Emily, though Pastor Emily will continue to lead Consistory meetings as she has done for the past two years. We are incredibly grateful for Pastor Dan’s willingness to be together with us in this way, and for his faithful wisdom and deep love for Maple Avenue Ministries.
Note: Because of a conflict, September’s Council meeting has been moved to Wed., Sept. 15 at 7pm. The Consistory met this past Tuesday (8/10) to review the submitted results of the Next Steps Survey and to continue the conversation about initial next steps during this time of transition.
In reviewing the surveys and in our conversations with you, we have heard a consistent desire for more people of color and/or representation in our leadership. We, as the Council, deeply share this desire, and we are so thankful that our surveys and conversations have revealed a large number of people of color who have volunteered to lead by serving with our Visioning Team (a team that will soon be assembled to help guide the congregation through this time of transition and in the search for our next lead pastor). The Council also voted to proceed with pursuing interim consulting services (as opposed to hiring an interim pastor), and continuing to be blessed by the diverse and gifted group of MAMily guest preachers. We have been in dialogue with the Classes of the RCA & CRC in Holland and intend to engage our church partners to gather support (both financial and otherwise) during this season. Immediate Next Steps: 1. Contact and engage in conversation with MAMily members who have yet to fill out the survey. 2. Research interim consulting options, develop job description, begin interviews. 3. Write grant proposal for Classis funding and approach church partners for support. |
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November 2021
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