9/7 Transition Team Meeting 7:00 at Chruch

We started with devotions on Philippians 4:4-9.  We all agreed that the Lord has, indeed, been with this process and that we are not to worry.

Discussed the fact that we want to have a family leave clause available and the details of that will be worked out by the church council.

There were two items that needed discussion and/or some revision.  The first was a revision of the five ways the congregation would support the new pastor (bottom of page 11 and on to page 12).  After consulting the MSP of Trinity Lutheran in Gresham, we adopted their format, if not their exact wording (see MSP).

The second was was in the commentary.  There was lengthy discussion of the phrase "to all baptized Christians" in the mission statement.  We ended up just adding the date that the charter was signed.

The congregation has until the 11th to give us their comments, and if there are no issues that arise from a lot of people, we will present the MSP to the executive committee when they meet on the 12th.  It is expected that they will accept it and then Gary will electronically deliver it to Susan Kintner.  It was felt that we do not need to meet with her to present it.

We will present a brief overview of the MSP to the congregation after worship on the 18th.  The transition team members who are there are invited to speak a sentence or two about what he or she was responsible for in the document.

Meeting was adjourned with blueberry cake and ice cream, sparkling cider and a prayer.

8/16 Transitin team Meeting

Attendees:  Meghan, Gary, Pastor Michelle, Shirley, Jan and Diane

We began with a reading of Hebrews 12:1-2.  

The MSP was projected on the big screen and we started with page one and proceeded to examine it line by line to make changes in wording that seemed awkward, redundant or unnecessary.  We got through page 5 and decided we would each review it individually on our own and send Gary any further proposed changes.  These are to be done by 8/24.

He will then compile these and make the "final" product available for our review.  We may or may not need another face to face meeting for this; the option was left open.  The plan is to submit the MSP to the September meeting of council.

Diane will submit a note for Toni to put in her next weekly newsletter.

7/13 Transition Team Meeting - 6:30 Church

Agenda:

• Devotion
• Housekeeping
• Agree on goals and milestones to report progress (Bring personal calendars, Council Meeting)
• Closing Date for Survey 
• Check in on individual work (additional one-to-ones)
• Reviewing and consolidating the MSP responses 
• Any needed MSP Responsibility Adjustments
• Addressing different congregational understandings about Creator
• Overall Transition Decisions - What do we need from council?
• Scheduling Next Meeting

Minutes 

We began with devotions using Romans 12:1-8.  We spent time considering our own personal gifts and those of Creator.  

We then discussed some of the things that came up at the two cottage meetings.  There is still a major concern surfacing about finances.  Concern about the identity of Creator also cropped up, especially in the area of social justice.  There is a deep sense of social justice, but it does not particularly resonate among the congregation as a whole.

However, after all that discussion, we agreed that it is not the job of this group to address these concerns, but to make sure they are not ignored in the future. These are suggestions that will be passed on to council. 

 Moving on to the progress of our purpose:  we came up with a timeline for the next few weeks.

The hope is to submit the MSP to council by August, September at the latest.  After council has reviewed the MSP, we would schedule a town hall meeting and get feedback from the congregation, noting any concerns that might be pointed out.

Before then, each committee member will finish his or her area of responsibility and finalize their parts of the report, submitting them by 8/5/16.  We will then meet on 8/10/16 at 6:30 at the church and have the MSP projected on the screen and go over it as a group, fine tuning where it might be needed.  Council will be handling the financial parts of the MSP.

Again:  our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10th at 6:30 pm at the church.  It would be nice to have full attendance, and If there are those who can't make it. perhaps we should consider finding a day when all could be present.

6/22 and 6/26 Notes from Small Group Meetings

Diane reports:

We have had our two additional cottage meetings and there was good conversation at both.  On Wednesday we had one person outside of the transition team (TT) and there were 18 people plus 5 TT members at the second one.

Financial stability was a subject at both sessions.  There was a comment about not being a church that's so focused on money.  It seems to be a conundrum as it's a necessary subject; it takes money to keep the church viable.

Communication was discussed at the first one and there were comments about communicating what's going on outside of church hours.  Sharing more of our lives than just Sunday morning, and being able to be supportive of individual members/families when we know their stories.

Sunday's meeting seemed to have more open discussion in general.  Someone suggested that everyone be heard, and most everyone participated.  There were a couple of specific "hopes" mentioned, but soon we were talking about the bigger picture.  We want to be a more community oriented church.  And we need to remember that this is a process.  This is not going to happen overnight and we need to stay committed to the process.

Some of the specific qualities in a pastor:  one who can focus on our community outside of the church; someone younger, or more recently out of seminary (a second career); an immigrant pastor; have a global vision with a community focus; a change agent; a facilitator.

There was discussion about a church whose focus was all about social needs and that was compared to a Kiwanis club.  If that's what you want, you can join a club, but most people want worship as well.  We need to find the balance between worship and social justice work.

There are going to be changes.  We are in the middle of change and some will be uncomfortable with this, with any change.  A good suggestion (in my opinion) was to send a letter out to the congregation acknowledging the change and the discomfort that some may be experiencing, but to hold on.  Stay for the reasons that have kept you here so far and commit to walking together through the process.

6/02 Transition Team Meeting

Agenda

• Setting Important Next Dates and Transition Planning (bring your calendars)
• Devotional
• Housekeeping
• Review Individual One-to-one and relational work
• Analyze and consolidate MSP responses
• MSP Presentation to council and congregation
• Schedule next meeting

 There are currently 47 submitted surveys.

We began the meeting with a devotion based on Matthew 28:16-20.  Four short verses with lots to ponder.  Two of the questions we were asked to ponder over:  what are the "knots" in the congregation that keep us bound?  what is the purpose of Creator Lutheran Church?

We started with a discussion of closing the survey which lead to a much wider discussion of what we really have learned about the hopes, dreams, and goals of the people who make up Creator.  We decided to leave the survey open; in addition, it was decided we needed to reengage with our church family and try to delve deeper into the hopes and dreams.

We momentarily thought about creating a second survey and quickly realized that wasn't the approach we needed.  We have set up two more listening sessions with the focus on hopes and dreams.  We are also offering opportunities for one to ones with anyone who desires.

Nick was meeting with the youth on Sunday the 5th and was going to try to get them to open up on their hopes and dreams for this transition and beyond.

Jan had accumulated much detailed information on the demographics of the area schools.  Some surprising numbers were appearing, especially with the number of different languages in the various schools.  We decided it was good information but did not want to pursue it at the moment.

We set dates for the two sessions for further discussion:  June 22nd (Wednesday) at 7PM at the church, and June 26th (Sunday) after worship.  The focus will be on hopes and dreams for the future and what is the purpose of Creator.

We will try to close the survey by July 1st (unless the new discussions generate more activity).  We are also offering people an opportunity to submit their thoughts in writing or schedule one to ones.  In July, we will go over the data and send Gary any updated information we have gleaned.

The next transition team meeting will be Wednesday, July 13th, 6:30 at the church.  As the document comes together, we will edit it as a team.

The hope is that we will have the MSP ready to give to council by September.  Pastor will sent out the email to everyone about the two new meetings we are holding.

5/25 Transition to Do List

We will have more one-to-one sessions and the team will remain focused in our listening.  However, we recognize the survey responses are slowing down and we currently do not have people asking for another small group session.

We are entering a different phase of our work which is equally important.  We need to analyze and consolidate what we have learned from our listening into the answers for the MSP. 

Next Thursday we will continue to delve into areas of the MSP where we have our particular responsibilities assigned. Individual work updates will be helpful when we next meet.  We will review answers in our areas of responsibility and will add, change or rewrite any of the answers like we started to do at the last meeting. 

Also, we set the goals and milestones we can use to communicate our future progress to the congregation.

5/11 Transition Team Meeting

Agenda:

• Devotion
• Housekeeping
• Review overall survey / small group meeting learning and results 
• Check in on your individual work besides Small Group Meetings (additional One-to-ones)
• Reviewing and consolidating the initial MSP responses 
• Needed MSP Responsibility Adjustments
• May Congregational Meeting Presentation Plans
• Overall Transition Decisions (including how to pass along information not directly related to the MSP)
• Scheduling Next Meeting

There are 40 survey responses as of today.

This will be our first attempt at consolidating the MSP information that we gathered up until now through the one-ones, small group meetings.

Please send by Monday:

• Initial write-ups you may have in your area of responsibility.  
• Initial strategies for compiling survey results and initial impressions of the summary survey data  
• Meaningful contributions from a one-to-one or small group that pertains to another part of the MSP.
• Your ideas for the congregational meeting presentation to hammer out our initial working presentation..

------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

The meeting was opened with devotions on Ephesians 4:11-16.

Gary requested a brief note from everyone briefly telling what drew each of us to be on the transition team.  It will be posted by our photos.

Diane explained about Greg being unable to make it and his comment that perhaps he should resign from the team.  She will confirm that.

A brief discussion of the last small group meeting and of the social justice gathering was held.

We then went over the MSP, category by category, beginning the fine tuning of our responses.  Good progress was made, with more to be made after some pondering it  individually.  Rob will be the overseer of all the categories, as we continue with the earlier "assignments."

We decided what would be on the 3 slides we will present to the congregation at the meeting on the 22nd.

     1) Reporting progress:  4 small group meetings with a total of about 50 in 

         attendance; 40 surveys have been completed; 12 one to ones have been 

         held; the transition team is meeting regularly.

     2) Trends:  Meghan will write this up

     3) Next steps:  expectations for when we have completed the MSP

5/4 Scheduled at 6pm, HS/YA Pizza & Input; 7pm Climate Justice video for all! (Wed)

6:00 - Pizza & HS/Young Adult input about Creator's strengths and weaknesses (to help find the right pastor)
7:00 - Families invited to join; Jason Fileta from Micah Challenge will introduce & show a new Climate Justice film (25 min) & share about the growing Christian movement toward addressing climate change.

4/26 Team Meeting

Agenda

• Devotion
• Housekeeping
• Survey Results and Small Group Participation 
• Check in on individual work besides Small Group Meetings (additional One-to-ones)
• Small Group Learning
• MSP Responsibility Needs
• May Presentation Decisions
• Overall Transition Decisions
• Scheduling Next Meeting

Pastor Michele began with a Lectio Divina devotion from Luke 9:1-17.

We briefly discussed the meeting at church on Sunday following service.  Most everyone spoke and it was a good forum for sharing individual thoughts.  The small group meeting at Hartung's on the previous Thursday was a good opportunity for one to ones.  Between the two gatherings, there were 31 people from the congregation.  The third small group is scheduled for 5/5 at Hartung's again.  Only two have signed up for it so far.

We proceeded to go through the MSP topics and determined who would be willing to be the lead for the various headings.

Demographics/ethnicity:  Jan

Trends in the community:  Gary has some of that put together.  We will discuss as a group.

Ministry site characteristics:  Shirley will coordinate, but we will do it as a group after the surveys are compiled.

Purpose/giftedness/mission:  group

References:  council; we will give them our suggestions.

Leadership needs:  council

Top 5 ministry tasks:  Meghan, survey

Gifts for ministry:  Diane

Mutual expectations:  council + transition team

Compensation/benefits/professional expenses:  council.

Commentary:  Meghan

We decided that a weekly announcement at church is a good idea; just a little update of meetings and the process.  Also, a note in the bulletin as well as something in the monthly newsletter will be submitted.  Diane will make the announcement on May 1st.

Our wish is to engage the congregation in as many ways as we can, not the least of which is their prayerful participation.  We are hoping that as they follow our progress, they can pray for specific needs as we move through our process.

We look forward to when our team can meet with everyone present. 

4/14 Team Meeting

Agenda -

·  Devotional - Team & Pastor Michelle - Unbinding the Gospel
·  Guest - Susan Kintner Presentation Q and A
·  Select Transition Team chairperson
·  Finalize Congregational Survey
·  Assigning MSP Responsibility
·  Congregational Education
          Focus On MSP – Suggestions and Concerns will not translate to MSP
          Congregational Education of Trends and Comparisons to Other Churches

·  Finalize Scheduling & Invitation on Small Group Meetings 4/21 – Toni’s,  4/24 – Creator, 5/05 – Toni’s
·  Assigning Small Group Meeting Planner(s)
·  One-to-one Updates
          Formal requests for One-to-ones
          Sessions Transition Team should initiate

·  Team Photo and Write Ups
·  Meeting Frequency Decision and Scheduling Next Meeting(s)

____________________________________

Present: Jan Mallory, Diane Mattox, Meghan Kelly, Rob Haase, Shirley Peterson, Gary Schulstad, Pastor Michelle Manicke,

Guests:  Amy Haase, Reverend. Susan Kintner Assistant to the Bishop, Oregon Synod

Pastor Michelle opened with a Lectio Divina devotional reading from 1 Kings 3:5-15.Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom.  We also answered two questions, "If God was offering to give you a gift of your choice, what would it be?"  and "What do you think of Solomon's choice?" In the passage Solomon asked for an understanding mind to govern and to be able to discern good from evil. " An understanding mind" can also be translated as "a listening heart" and we discussed how that applied to our transition work

Rev. Susan gave a presentation and a Q and A.  She advised the congregation should not rush the transition work.  The congregation needs to be comfortable with who we are without Pastor Dayle's leadership.  We want to foster congregational curiosity about who we are as a people  and how to honor our heritage.

She talked about moving our perspective from the dance floor (our nuts and bolts work) to the balcony (overall assessment of the congregation and process) and to identify any anxieties we can address that the congregation may have.

She talked about understanding Creator's core values.  She offered Music and Creativity and a Strong Public Leadership Style she has seen at Creator's core in the past as we reflected on past Creator pastors.

She answered questions abut the MSP which have been recorded to address our future MSP responses as they come up. 

Pastor Michelle identified three current congregational focuses; transition work, stewardship and promoting teams (and team structure).

Team meetings will be currently scheduled as needed with the day of the week rotated to address the need of those who cannot meet on Thursdays. 

Actions:

1. Gary will be Transitional Team chairperson.
2. Agreement for Draft Survey to be distributed   See if paper copies are desired.  Posting would be to Facebook and This Week at Creator and in the bulletin (Gary will send link to Toni and Pastor Michelle).
3. The Small Group Meetings on 4/21, 4/24 and 5/05 will have a basic agenda
   Answer questions about the process
   Allow opportunities for One-to-ones to answer questions about Creator
        What drew you to Creator?
        What keeps you at Creator?
        What dreams do you have for Creator?
   Gary will lead the first team meeting at Toni's on Thursday.  We will adjust Transiton Team attendance based on how many sign up for each small group.

To Do List:

• Put a paper copy of the MSP in a binder and make it available to the congregation
• Insure one or two tables and chairs are available outside the Fellowship Hall to allow for people to fill out surveys.
• Team photos, brief introductions and contact information posted on Bulletin Board  

Considerations:

• If instant information gathering would be helpful, consider using Crowd Survey
• If Creator seriously considers faith based community organizing Terry Moe would be a contact
• If additional Congregational Survey were to be considered we may want to check Pastor Michael's availability between upcoming Synod Assembly and time off he will be taking. 

Personal Response to the 4/10 Blessing of the Transition Team During Worship

Sometimes sanctuary names not only the place where we worship.  The word also encapsulates the essence of refuge and rest.  This is possible because of a trust in the engagement and regard that is shared by everyone gathered together.  To borrow the language of the St. Teresa poem that we heard at Easter; each of us can feel the embrace of God through Christ who now has no body on earth but ours.

There are other times that cockpit might be a more appropriate word to describe how this building on Sunnyside can feel, at least for me.  This is the place where we are thrust into new spaces and new understandings; moved by the word, music or sacrament. Worship at these times takes us to our next point of arrival, the places where we most want or need to go.  These are individual points of arrival and a miracle is that each of us is moved to our individual futures by the same worship.

Blaise Pascal once wrote "Finally, let us recognize that there are two kinds of people on can call reasonable; those who serve God with all their heart because they know Him and those who seek God with all their heart because they do not know Him".  I would add two things I have learned to this quote.   One is that this can be true within one person as well.  The other is, despite how contradictory this may seem on the surface, these differences must be brought together as one.

Today's Gospel - John 21:1-19 and The Blessing of the Transition Team brought the differences together.  The Gospel was about Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish and when Jesus Reinstates Peter.

Pastor Michelle told the story in her sermon this way:

Peter appears to be uncertain of his purpose after his denial of Jesus.  He, with other disciples, try to go back to fishing, unsure what they can or should do next.  They try unsuccessfully to go back to their old way of being.

After being guided by his wisdom to the miraculous catch they recognize Jesus.  He invites them to breakfast to be fed.  Jesus "reinstates" Peter by asking him "Do you love me?" in three different ways, reminiscent of the denials right down to the questions and answers being given in front of a charcoal fire (which now is contributing to how they are fed).

After Peter affirms his love three times Jesus says to him, "Follow me".  We know Peter will serve God with all his heart because of what he learns here again.

After the Sermon and before The Prayers of the People - The Blessing of the Transition Team vividly, personally moved what I usually see as an "either / or" question to a "both / and"answer.  The answer to the question "Should worship be a refuge or a revelation?"  is yes.  Did I experience a profound embrace of the congregation that I'm rooted in and gives me refuge from the world in the Blessing?  Yes.  Was there also a strong sense of suddenly stepping out of an old way of being and into a future God is preparing for Creator?  Yes.

This was centered movement and not stasis.  The Blessing passed to the team the congregation's trust and permission.  With that the team gained a needed affirmation for laying the foundation.  Moving forward the team can help take Creator to the place the congregation wants to go.

At the heart of this blessing my trust and permission also passed to the team and to the congregation. There was a confidence, not necessarily that this work would be easy or everyone would be in agreement as we discern, but that we were bound together on the right journey for this transition.

4/3 Town Hall - Follow Up Work

Feedback from the Town Hall:  Congregation appreciated the fact that the work has started.
Congregation wants copies of the MSP available.  A couple of printed MSPs are now in the church office.

Survey Work This Week

• Can we finalize survey by the end of the week?   Diane volunteered to do survey work.
  Have you had a chance to review the MSP?  There are five responses so far to the draft survey, 

To funalize:

1. Review the MSP for additions / changes to the survey
2. Analyze results: Sign in to www.surverymonkey.com - Username: CreatorMinistry Password: blessings
3. Click into the Ministry Site Profile Information Gathering and click on the Analyze Results tab.  
4. Use both of the above and any ideas you have to submit comments and suggestions for any changes to be made on the survey.

• .Are paper copies needed?  If so, who will be in charge?

Scheduling Cottage Meetings

• Can we schedule them this week?  Diane volunteered to help schedule and plan the Cottage Meetings.   April 21 and 28, which are Thursday evenings work for Toni and their house can accommodate up to 15.
• How do we want to extend the invitation?

Preparing Questions on the MSP and Synod involvement for Transition Team meeting with Susan next Thursday

• Go over the MSP for questions to Susan.

Sign up for what you would like to work on.  Suggestions:

• One-to-ones
• Survey Work
• MSP Additional Write Up
• Cottage Meeting scheduling and planning
• Demographic information

3/31 Team Meeting - Dates and Action Items

Hopefully, the entire team has received the invitation to be an author on this Transition Team blog.  If not, please contact me.

Last night's meeting was appreciated.  It was not only productive but meaningful (as always with Creator members).  I appreciated what was shared about Holy Week services.  

On the productive side, the team agreed on a plan to follow council's proposed timeline and work towards presenting the Ministry Site Profile to the congregation at the May Congregational Meeting.

There was a concern that we not rush the process so the team also agreed if there are reasons why we can't make the date we would come up with a new timeline to present to council.

Here are some decisions on important dates and milestones:

• Team will appear before congregation to insure people know the work is going on and know who to go to:

               4/3   -  After Worship Town Hall - Transition Team Introduction
               4/10 -  At Worship - Blessing and Recognition

• Coordinating with Synod - Questions came up about how best to communicate to the Synod our openness to special candidacy considerations (for example if we might be open to a potential for a ministry couple or that we insure no ethnic consideration would preclude a potential candidate

               4/14 -  Worship Team Meeting with Susan Kintner to present our questions.

April will mostly be our information-gathering month from the congregation.  This will include a survey, Cottage Meetings and One-to-ones.  We recognize it will be hard to have all members attending meetings so we agreed we can plan, work and make decisions through the Transition Team blog and email.   I will work on insuring this team can post to the blog    

• Survey - The team felt it was important to get the survey into the hands of the congregation as quickly as possible.  We want to insure the survey is distributed through social media (a link on Facebook through the Creator Group page).  We also talked about a paper copies and floated the idea of having a Survey Sunday where many laptops and PCs are made available at the church for people to fill out the survey on online via wireless connections.
• Cottage Meetings - Currently the plan is for two "Cottage" Meetings   One at Toni's and one at church.  Both need to be planned and scheduled.  Anyone want to be responsible for the planning and scheduling?
• One-to-ones - The plan is for some One-to-ones to be planned in the Cottage Meetings and to schedule others individually. If you know people who desire a One-to-one let the team know or conduct one yourself.  One-to-ones are for relationship building

May will be focused on filling out the Ministry Site Profile with what we have gathered from the congregation and council.

• We already have the Congregational Vitality survey as another source of information
• We need to collect demographic data.  Does anyone feel they would like to be responsible for filling in the demographic data?
• Remember: If there is information that would be directly pertinent to the Ministry Site Profile that we gather from any One-to-ones, our team is responsible for how it is reflected.
• There will be parts of the MSP the council will help us fill out.
• There will likely be a standalone write-up about Creator we will submit as part of the MSP

               5/15 - Presentation to Council of Transition Team's proposed MSP
               5/22 - Presentation at the May Congregational Meeting

Currently On The Team's Plate:

• We need to finalize the draft survey.  

1. Review the MSP for potential questions to Susan and additions / changes to the survey
2. Sign in to www.surverymonkey.com - Username: CreatorMinistry Password: blessings
3. Click into the Ministry Site Profile Information Gathering and click on the Analyze Results tab.
4. Use both of the above to submit comments and suggestions for any changes to be made..  It would be great if the survey was ready to be published by next Friday.

• Decide what you work you would like to help with or be responsible for -

1. One-to-ones
2. Survey Work
3. MSP Additional Write Up
4. Cottage Meeting scheduling and planning
5. Demographic information
6. Other

One-to-ones

The best One-to-one meetings can:

• Build Relationships. Relationships cultivate possibilities. It is through relationships that significant things happen. When people are in relationship, they can share, plan, dream, create and get things done. Without relationships, people are powerless. People are more likely to respond to an invitation to work together from someone with whom they have a relationship. One-to-ones build networks of relationships and build community.

• Uncover Self-interests. Self-interests are those things that a person feels most strongly about.  Self-interest is the thing that motivates a person. It is their passion or unforgettable fire. People are most likely to get involved in things around their self-interests.

• Develop Clarity. One-to-one conversations allow people to express their feelings about things.  When people talk about something, it helps to make that thing clearer to them. People rarely have an opportunity to express themselves to a good listener. A conversation provides this opportunity and helps people to gain clarity for themselves. In addition, helping someone develop clarity about what they do strengthens the relationship.

• Gather Information. One-to-ones are an opportunity to gain information about the church. You will find out what is going on, who your neighbors are and, most importantly, what they are thinking and feeling.

There will be handouts at our first meetings to help you understand these important conversations that we will be encouraging both in and outside of the Cottage Meetings.

Cottage Meetings

Cottage Meetings will be one way congregational input can be gathered .  One of our tasks will be to schedule and organize these Cottage Meetings.

Toni has offered her home for one of the meetings.

One meeting, at least, will probably be held at church for the convenience of the congregation..

Congregational Survey

As another tool to gather information for the upcoming Cottage Meetings and One-to-ones an online survey, which can also be printed, could be helpful.

Follow the link to a Creator draft working survey.to show how we could construct the final survey.  Please fill out the draft survey and we will use the data and feedback to confirm the survey is effective.

Trends In the Community Characteristics

Part 1 Section 5 of the MSP asks about Trends in the community context of the congregation.

Follow these links to Clackamas and Happy Valley for some raw information that could be used.  Defining Creator's geographical community is obviously something that will need to be decided..

These links are filled with data.  Check out the Religion Statistics.  

Training for Lay Leaders

If you would like training in community organizing (including One-to-ones) the ELCA Oregon Synod, in partnership with others, is offering this training on April 9th:

The Day long Workshop for Pastors and lay teams:  Saturday, April 9, 2016   10:00 am-4:00 pm

 Central Lutheran Church 1820 NE 21st Ave  Portland, OR 97212  ((503) 284-2331

Let Pastor Michelle know if you are interested

Welcome!

This is an online repository of information for the Transition Team.  This is not designed to be a primary source of team communication.

What is our task?

Our major focus will be to complete a Ministry Site Profile. (MSP)  The MSP will be used by the synod to select candidates for Creator's Call Committee to interview.

To begin our MSP work the team will lead the congregation in conversations to discern where God is calling the people of Creator.  We will use Surveys, Cottage Meetings and One-to-ones to gather congregational input. After compiling and evaluating the input we will determine and write up Creator's vision for future ministry.

Our work will be communicated and coordinated with the Council.

Council proposed a team milestone of presenting a draft MSP for congregational review at the May meeting,