Page 4 - C:\Users\Jim\AppData\Local\Temp\mso7F8B.tmp

Our March Pastoral Letter
is prov ided by
Reverend Tim Meachin who is our appointed
Interim Moderator

I am grateful for the opportunity to write to you and introduce
myself, again for some of you, as Interim Moderator. In our
denomination an Interim Moderator is appointed to work with a
church or group of churches as they call a stipendiary minister.

The time which a church spends in between stipendiary ministers
can be a challenge but also an opportunity. It is good news that a
vacancy has been declared for Swanage, Wareham and Skinner
Street. The process of calling a new minister starts with the
formation of a Vacancy Group which includes representatives from
all three churches in the pastorate. They will work, on your behalf,
to produce a profile document which describes all three churches
and a shorter summary which will be circulated to ministers. The
process which follows may take some time and depends on there
being a minister who is looking to move and has taken an interest
in the pastorate based on the contents of the summary and profile.
I am sure that the Vacancy Group will welcome contributions from
others to ensure that the profile and summary fully represent what
is taking place in the pastorate. All three churches are undertaking
lots that is worth sharing and simply taking stock of what is going
on can be an encouragement in itself.

It is tempting for a church to look at, what can be a lengthy, period
of ministerial transition as a gap and focus on working only with a
‘when we get our next minister’ approach. This time is, however, a
great opportunity for people to have a chance to discover new
capabilities and encourages the church to dig deeply and discover
new things about itself and its mission.

Developing each other through encouragement and support builds
capacity for the future and leads to a church becoming more
resilient in the long term. Jesus did not call fully formed Apostles
but a diversity of ordinary people who became his followers, walked
with him and grew through the journey. They stumbled, wandered

4