A MESSAGE FROM THE REV. J.C. AUSTIN: SHARING YOUR GIFTS
This Sunday, October 8, is the deadline for nominations of people to serve in elected office in the church, starting in early 2024. I want to talk this week about exactly what that means, because the election of leaders for the church is one of the most important things we do as a congregation, and it’s important to understand what we’re asking people to do who serve in these offices.
First, there are three offices to which we elect leaders: Elders, Deacons, 
and Trustees. Some people have gifts to potentially serve in more than one of those offices, while others are particularly well-suited to one. But giftedness is the right way to consider whether someone might be called to serve. We do not elect people to office because they’ve “earned it” through the length of time they’ve been a member, or the amount of work they’ve done in the church, or how much money they give. Elected leadership in the church is for service, not for status. So what gifts are we looking for?
Elders could be alternatively called, “Ministers of Discernment and Governance.” They are elected to serve together on the Session, which makes almost all of the decisions in the life of a Presbyterian congregation. Their most important work, though, is not those decisions; the Session is called to nothing less than “discerning the will of Christ,” as the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Constitution puts it in the Book of Order.
The Session is not merely a nonprofit board of directors; it is a council of Elders who are called to spiritual leadership in the life of the church, examining every decision before them through the lens of Christ’s will that we learn through Scripture, the historic faith of the church, and our congregation’s current Mission Statement and Core Values.
The Session has delegated a set of responsibilities to the Board of Trustees. Unlike Elders and Deacons (see below), Trustees are not ordained ministries in the life of the church. They are the board of the church’s Corporation, which is the legal entity of the congregation under state law that allows us to own and manage property and invested funds, among other things.
The Session delegates the day-to-day operational authority of the church financial life and the management of its property to the Board of Trustees; the Session is the final authority on all matters, but relies on the Trustees to manage these issues effectively so it can focus on the overall mission strategy of the church and its programmatic and pastoral life.
That said, Trustees are still considered ministers in the life of the church; they go through the same training as Elders and Deacons and swear the same vows before the congregation. This is because it is important to remember that the Trustees are also not simply a nonprofit board managing the assets of the church, but are called to do so through the same lenses of Scripture, the church’s theological heritage, and our Mission Statement and Core Values.
Deacons have a different ministry: they are “Ministers of Compassion and Justice.” The ministry of Deacons goes all the way back to the sixth chapter of the book of Acts in the New Testament, when the early church created them to ensure that widows and orphans, the poorest people in their society, were receiving the food they needed, fairly and with dignity. Ever since, Deacons have focused on attending to the needs of people who are sick, poor, and marginalized, both within the church and in the larger community. Today, our Deacons oversee a prayer ministry for those going through any kind of difficulty, visit people in the hospital, call on people who have difficulty leaving their homes, aid people in economic hardship, and so on.
Finally, members of the Congregational Nominating Committee have to be elected each year, and so we are seeking nominations for that. The Nominating Committee reports directly to the congregation, because who is elected to ministry is one of the few things that the Session does not get to decide in a Presbyterian Church. This is a crucial role because we need people who have a broad knowledge of the congregation’s membership and can help call people who bring a diverse range of life and faith experiences and insights.
So: if you know someone who you think might be well-suited to one or more of these roles, please submit their name to the Congregational Nominating Committee by the end of the day this Sunday, October 8, either by dropping off a paper Nomination form or using the link to do so online here: tinyurl.com/255jeext.
And if you feel that you yourself might be called, you can self-nominate the same way! Everyone nominated will be contacted to confirm they are eligible to run and asked if they accept the nomination, before their name appears on the ballot. The elections are held in conjunction with our Annual Meeting in January.
Thank you for your consideration of these important decisions, and please keep the Nominating Committee in your prayers as they go about their work.
Grace and Peace,
J.C.