A Message from Daniel
I want to take a moment and share an update about something that impacts all of us at PCM – whether we realize it or not. At the last Session meeting, our elders approved a plan to reorganize PCM’s committee structure. I know that may not sound too exciting, but it’s important to remember that one of our central beliefs as Presbyterians is that we discern the mind of Christ and the will of God in community. Every decision – large and small – about our church is typically made in community. So the work of our committees is vital to our life together. In addition, this restructure happened after months of conversation and planning. And I’m so proud of our elders and grateful for their faithful work in talking about and thinking about this reorganization.
Just what, exactly, is this new committee structure? Well, we have 18 elders. Two elders serve on each of our nine committees. Those nine committees are now:
- Adult Ministries
- Buildings and Grounds
- Children, Youth, and Families
- Community and Membership
- Finance
- Management and Administration
- Outreach
- Stewardship and Nominating
- Worship and Music
If you are familiar with our previous committees, you might notice that the Adult Ministries and Stewardship and Nominating committees are new. Previously, Adult Education was a part of the Christian Education committee; Stewardship was appointed by Finance; and Nominating was an ad-hoc committee put together each fall. By making Adult Ministries and Stewardship and Nominating full committees of the Session, I believe we will be giving those program areas the attention they need in order for our congregation to thrive.
You may also notice that Christian Education and Youth and Young Adults have merged into a new committee – Children, Youth, and Families. This will allow us to view our programs with families as a cohesive whole – from birth through high school graduation. I’m thrilled that, along with this merger of committees, Alexandra Mead has been promoted to Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. Part of her new role will be to provide supervision of our youth program. We’ll be starting the search for a new Youth Director this fall. In the meantime, I’m thankful for Abby Semple and Kevin Johnson, who have been doing a fantastic job coordinating our youth program since January and who will continue to do so in the year ahead. Young Adults will now fall under the new Adult Ministries committee.
Finally, in this new structure, the functions of our Communications committee are moving to two existing committees. The livestream/production part of Communications will now fall under Worship and Music and the promotion part will fall under Community and Membership. My hope is that our wonderful livestream team will benefit from working closely with those who plan our worship services; and that the promotion part will benefit from serving along with those who plan many of our events. Absorbing the functions of the Communications committee into W&M and C&M reflects an enormous amount of trust and graciousness on the part of those who have served on Communications, and I’m so grateful for their willingness to try something new as they continue to do this important work.
If you’ve made it this far – thank you! It occurs to me that the fall is always a great time to seek new opportunities for involvement… so if you think you’d like to serve in some way – perhaps on one of these committees – please drop me a line and let me know. We’d love to have you join us!
In Christ’s love,
Daniel
