On Calling a Pastor – Remember! We are all involved
During the time of transition between pastors, we at the First Presbyterian Church of Covington are engaged in a spiritual discernment. This process as you know, is to discover a call to ministry for a new pastor. The goal is to determine what God wants the church to be and do in the next phase of the congregation’s life. This task involves all the participants in this our Body of Christ.

• The Presbytery is our companion in the search process, often through someone who will serve as our liaison. The presbytery will also assist us with mission study if needed, as a way to discern the ministry direction in which God is leading us.
• Our Moderator and Session provide us with a positive and reassuring tone during the complete pastoral search process. This includes assisting the congregation in coping with the departure of the pastor, carrying on with the ministry of the congregation, and preparing the way to the next stage of the congregation’s life.
• Our Interim Pastor is temporary, but is one who has special expertise and training in working with congregations in the midst of a pastoral transition, and provides leadership during the congregation’s search for the next pastor.
• The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC), represents the whole congregation and is elected by the congregation. The PNC has the ultimate responsibility for nominating a minister to the congregation for election as the next pastor. Over a number of months, the PNC will journey through the pastoral search process, seeking to hear the call of Christ and “to participate in God’s own choice” for your next pastor.
• The responsibilities of the Congregation, are no less important than those of the other participants in the pastoral call process. These responsibilities include continuous support for the ministry of the church through prayer, participation, and financial support during the entire period of pastoral transition.

Once this becomes clear, the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC), in consultation with the presbytery, will press ahead with the discernment process of discovering the candidate who God is calling to be the pastor in this next chapter of the congregation’s life and ministry.

May the Good Lord continue to guide us.

If you have been around the church over the past week, you may have noticed talking cats everywhere you turn.  You may be thinking, "Holy cow, why are these cat flyers all over the church?".  We will be launching a survey very soon and we want to know your thoughts! 

We are working with a consulting company called, HolyCow!, to gain insight about who we are as a church and what we desire for our future. We would like to ask you to complete a survey called a Congregation Assessment Tool- also known as the "CAT"!

The survey will open on Wednesday, March 27th and stay open for 2-3 weeks.  Keep an eye out in your email inbox for the survey link. 

If you would prefer to take the assessment using a paper copy, please stop by the church office and we will provide one for you along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 

Take a look at the flyer here.

We are thrilled to tell you that since the election on February 3, your Pastor Nominating Committee,  has hit the ground running. See below for an update on our expected timeline and how YOU will be involved. And yes, you WILL be involved. It is YOUR search and we work for YOU!

There will be two ways for the congregation to participate in the search. First, a company named HolyCow! will be providing a survey which we will all complete in the next few weeks. Second, the PNC will be hosting small group listening sessions in June to hear your thoughts. The PNC will also get a demographic study of our community that will be done by a professor at Georgia Tech who also happens to be a Presbyterian minister!

The rest of our timetable will look like this... In July, we will complete our ministry information form that helps candidates learn about us. And in August, we will post our ministry information form at PCUSA headquarters in Louisville and then begin receiving personal information forms from minister candidates.

There IS a chance we could have a new pastor in place early next year, but there is no way to know. Of course, God already knows who that person is and we have to wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to move amongst all who are involved in this process.

We will update you regularly in the coming months using all of the church’s communication vehicles. And in the next couple of weeks, we will let you know when and how to take the HolyCow! survey.

In the meantime, we’d like to ask you to do three things:

• First - pray for all involved in this process – for our church, for the PNC, for the candidates and for our next pastor.
• Second - Take some of the PNC stickers from the narthex. Put them on your refrigerator or mirror or any place you can be reminded to pray for and to participate in the search process.
• Third– Look for regular updates from the PNC. 

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Thank you for your interest and support and please let us know your thoughts and questions along the way. And in the words of Cheryl Gibson, our PNC spiritual guide, let us pray ardently, purposefully and expectantly, trusting in God’s provision and timing.