Greetings from the Nominating Committee Chair FEBRUARY 2022
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Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Nominating Committee!
Our Moderator, Ferdi Brits, has graciously granted our request to write in his space in this edition of the newsletter. (Truth be told, Ferdi was quite relieved, having just returned from his native South Africa as the deadline approached!) We come to you today with an urgent message and request: As we approach two years of presbytery meetings conducted remotely, it has been more of a challenge to network and remind folks of their opportunities to serve Central Florida Presbytery through committee membership. Let’s face it: the pandemic has sapped our collective strength. The collective anxiety, stress and exhaustion that we are all navigating has led to a reduced willingness to participate in the vital work that committees do to support the mission of CFP. Acknowledging this and several other facts is important: like other denominations, the PC(USA)’s numbers are declining. Also, we do not seem to be getting any younger, as far as I can tell. Indeed, the fact that this newsletter space is still reserved for words from Rev. Brits, whose term as Moderator should have ended in December 2021, is a testimony to the fact that we have thus far been unsuccessful in finding a Moderator for 2022. This is partially due to our “decent and orderly” approach of alternating among male and female ruling and teaching elders from year to year. But we find it necessary to expand our search to include male as well as female ruling elders this time around. That search continues. I have mentioned these challenges in my reports to the presbytery over the past year or so since becoming the chair of the Nominating Committee. One or two committees have reduced their size in response. However, we also have added an important committee to our work: Anti-racism. And we expanded the informally organized team that plans our presbytery meetings. So the challenge of finding willing and able committee members also continues. One more reality: at present, the Nominating Committee is itself dealing with a vacancy. The rest of us rely heavily on recommendations from CFP staff and current committee members and chairs to suggest good candidates. Given all of this, your Nominating Committee humbly asks that you consider submitting your name, or someone else’s, for service to your presbytery. Whether this involves filling current vacancies or replacing folks set to complete their service at the end of this year, the need is greater than ever. I will list the most pressing needs below, noting whether we seek to fill the vacancies with Ministers (formally, TE for “Teaching Elders”); Ruling Elders (RE); or any member of a church (CM). Thank you in advance for supporting the ministry we share, and email me with questions (ideally, with nominations!)
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Rev. Jody Mask
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