(For each narrative question, please limit your responses to no more than 1500 characters including spaces and punctuation.)
1. What is the congregation’s or organization’s vision for ministry? Additionally, describe how this vision is lived out.
We have completed a strategic visioning process in which we map out how Trinity might continue to be a vibrant expression of the Church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century. There is excitement and energy around the vision – called “Vision 2020” – as we begin to actively live into it, seeking to Make God’s Love Visible through: Worshiping Creatively, Welcoming Intentionally, Caring Compassionately, Gathering Joyfully, Learning Purposefully, Serving Wholeheartedly, Leading Humbly, and Giving Generously. These foundational components of our life as a church – Worshiping, Welcoming, Caring, Gathering, Learning, Serving, Leading and Giving – continually keep the vision before us. Vision 2020 focuses on the values articulated in our mission statement (see above) via 3 priorities:
Engaging Our Members – Trinity has an incredible resource in its members. We are committed to ensuring that each member’s gifts are being used and their needs addressed. We recently hired a Director of Engagement to help facilitate member engagement.
Strengthening Our Core – Throughout its 70-year history Trinity has had excellent worship, music, and adult educational offerings and has been deeply committed to caring for one another and to social justice and mission. We will continue to build up these areas of strength as essential parts of our distinctive witness to God’s love in the world.
Serving God’s 21st Century World – Trinity seeks to adapt our ministries and programming to the changing needs of our community and the world. As noted, our multi-year visioning process has resulted in a specific written roadmap called “Vision 2020.” It embodies a number of initiatives that address those changing needs. In the fall of 2018 Trinity launched an informal worship service at the 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. It is an informal, participatory service where Trinity’s rich worship tradition meets an emerging desire for experiential worship. These services have met with enthusiastic responses across a wide array of generations and family makeups, with a steady attendance of 100+, a significant increase from the prior “early service” which followed a more traditional format. Another example of Trinity adapting our ministries and programming to
changing needs, is Trinity’s Education Ministry. Vision 2020 creates initiatives for increasing participation in Trinity’s adult education and spiritual formation offerings through a curriculum that offers a strong theological foundation, practical opportunities for spiritual practice, and
opportunities to build meaningful relationships. The contract call Associate Pastor will serve a critical role in engagement of members across ministries, including but not limited to spiritual formation, and congregational life
2. How do you feel called to reach out to address the emerging needs of your community or constituency?
As mentioned above, our informal worship service on Sunday mornings has experienced steady attendance, attracting a variety of ages. We have recently hired a Director of Engagement to help encourage members to actively connect in the life of the church, with a goal of Worship +2 for every member. Also, we have dedicated necessary resources to the growth of our Young Adult and Youth ministries, having recently renovated the youth meeting space to be more welcoming to our younger members. The contract call Associate Pastor will work to further the progress made with the Young Adult Ministry, as well as congregational life, member leadership development and engagement opportunities.
3. How will this position help you to reach your vision and mission goals?
As mentioned above, historically Trinity has had excellent worship, music, and adult educational offerings and has been deeply committed to caring for one another and to social justice and mission. The role of the contract call Associate Pastor will be to continue to build upon these areas focusing on young adult ministry and maintaining and expanding mission partnerships and new initiatives.
An Interim Senior Pastor was called in March, 2020 to engage the congregation, staff, and lay
leadership in a process of discernment and healing to allow Trinity to identify its mission and purpose as the body of Christ and to prepare the church for a new Senior Pastor. The Contract Call Associate Pastor will step in and fill the holes the Interim Senior Pastor and Senior Associate Pastor perceive as needing to be filled. These roles may change over time. This Associate Pastor will be a member of a pastorate team consisting of the Interim Senior Pastor, Senior Associate Pastor, Associate Pastor for Family Ministries, Parish Associate for Pastoral Care and Senior Adult Ministries and his/herself, led by the Interim Senior Pastor. Responsibilities may include those listed in #5 below, as well as creative contribution to the Church's full agenda and may shift as the team works to share their joint responsibility for pastoring Trinity Church.
4. Provide a description of the characteristics needed by the person who is open to being hired to this congregation and/or organization.
● Supportive and understanding of our unusual circumstances of interim, COVID-19 and currently fluid staffing model.
● Able to fill a lot of roles - “utility player,”
● Flexible – comfortable with changing roles and duties as needs arise ● Self-starting,
● Seasoned, ● Congenial, ● Positive attitude,
● Self-assured and unflappable, ● Organized,
● Outgoing, and has special interest in spiritual formation for adults.
● Able to fill in where needed with ease and actionable ideas, without a lot of supervision.
● Gets things done - skilled in the execution of tasks in order to successfully bring ideas to life and to achieve stated goals
5. For what specific tasks, assignments, and programs areas will this person have responsibility? We have not finalized the duties of this position. These will be somewhat dependent on the person we find and may change over time. The position will likely be responsible for most, but not all, of the following duties:
Adult Education/Spiritual Formation
• Work with the Adult Education committee to plan Trinity’s robust adult education curriculum as well as other education events.
• Oversee the development, nurture, and promotion of spiritual formation groups • Recruit and train leaders for spiritual formation groups
• Provide resources to spiritual formation groups Young Adult Ministry
• Oversee and support the young adult ministry.
Mission
• Work with the Mission committee to plan and execute the activities around Trinity’s external Mission work.
Congregational Life
• Work with Congregational Life committee to plan and implement congregation-wide events designed to build community and promote meaningful fellowship across generations.
Additionally, as we expect from all clergy: Worship and Pastoral Care
• Provide worship leadership and pastoral care to the congregation, as directed by the Interim Senior Pastor.
ACCOUNTABILITY: