[continued]

You will be hearing more from this team in the very near future.  The team will work to capture input from members about what we feel is important for candidates for settled ministry to know about our First Church community.  They will be using information collected recently such as the materials recorded from Transition Team activities, and they will use a number of tools such as surveys and cottage chats to allow members to share their thoughts, hopes, concerns, and aspirations.  This will be a wonderful opportunity for members to hear and be heard.  We hope you will all take advantage of this and support this team!

Standing Committee member Helen Jacoby will act as liaison between your Standing Committee and the Search Team.

Please join us in welcoming our Ministerial Search Team!

Thanks very much.

On behalf of your Standing Committee,

Steve Palmer

[continued]

This summer, we participated in our kick-off team retreat with the UUA to review the requirements and specifics of the search process, define our roles and responsibilities, and make a plan for the return of the congregation. We are currently creating a congregational survey and look forward to launching this foundational tool for you on September 9. You will hear more from us then about the survey and plans for both online and in-person gatherings this fall. 

As we move forward, it is of utmost importance that we hear from as many people as possible regarding your outlook, opinions and visions for tomorrow. This will help the team do our job of clearly representing our congregation to ministerial candidates and helping facilitate the best match possible.  Thank you in advance for your feedback and support!  In addition to the survey and online and in-person gatherings, please feel free to speak directly with any member of the search team.  We can be reached as a group at search@firstchurchinsalem.org.

In faith, 

Anna, Laura, Peter, Chris and John

Ministerial Search Team