Phase 1 Beginning on June 1st
On Saturday, June 1st, the Pastoral Transition Team will be meeting with Dr. Matt Cook from The Center for Healthy Churches. This will begin the Preparation Phase which is Phase 1 of the four phase process. Phase 2 is the Self-Study, and that will begin later in June. During Phase 2, the congregation will be strongly encouraged to engage with the process and provide feedback.
Goals of Phase 1:
Establish and communicate process and goals
Begin orientation for search committee
Develop spiritual discernment plan
Implement congregation communication plan
Goals for Phase 2:
Conduct three congregational conversations (past, present, and future)
Compile and analyze congregational values and priorities
Follow-up on Congregational Meeting- THANK YOU!
The Pastoral Transition Team would like to express their gratitude to the congregation for their support of hiring a search firm for the upcoming transition process! They are very thankful for the strong attendance at last Sunday's meeting and the great questions asked by the congregation. For those who were unable to attend the meeting, the slideshow is attached.
The team will be hiring The Center for Healthy Churches (CHC) and working specifically with Dr. Matt Cook. He will begin the process by meeting directly with the Pastoral Transition Team, and then he will be coming back into town to engage the congregation in several conversations. Everyone is strongly encouraged to participate and share their thoughts and ideas!
If you have any questions, please reach out to a Pastoral Transition Team member or complete the form that is posted to this page.
Upcoming Congregational Meeting, 4/28
The Transition Team is looking forward to the Congregational Meeting this Sunday, April 28th after church! During this meeting, we will be discussing our progress thus far, sharing our key takeaways, and presenting information about the proposed search firm, The Center for Healthy Church/Pneumatrix. We will be sharing important details about the overall process, including a breakdown of the steps and costs, answering questions from the congregation, and seeking your approval to hire this firm. We look forward to an informative, collaborative, and productive meeting. Please join us after church on Sunday!
Search Firm Selected
The Transition Team has selected a firm to help with the transition process. At the Congregational Meeting on 4/28, the team will be providing more information, including details about the process and the anticipated interactive sessions that will be geared toward gathering opinions and insights into the congregation's identity and needs. If you have any questions, please reach out to a member of the Transition Team.
The First Step: Choosing a Search Firm
The Transition Team has been meeting regularly to discuss the search process and interview different search firms. Currently, we are reviewing proposals from four different search firms and working to make a decision as to which one we will use.
The search firms provide support with both the discernment and search phases of the process. During the discernment phase, we will be engaging the congregation in conversations to explore the past, present, and future of UCLB. The search phase will involve the actual search for a new pastor.
The transition team looks forward to working closely with the congregation throughout this process. If you have any questions, please reach out to a transition team member.
A note from Mark and Tracy
Hello, Members and Friends of the Union Church,
This morning, at the end of our Annual Congregational Meeting, I shared
the news that Tracy and I are planning to end our time at the church in
June of 2025. By that time, I will have been here for 30 years and Tracy
will have been here for 20. Across all that time, people have come and
gone. We have faced different challenges. We have held babies in our
arms and then, decades later, presided at their weddings. And, of course,
we have sat together and grieved the loss of so many wonderful members
and friends. What has never changed is our love for you all. In fact, that
love has just grown deeper over the years.
Because we love you all and love the Union Church, our goal is to do
everything that we can to help the church put together a self-study and
search process that leads to the next wonderful chapter in the church’s
life. A great deal of that work for us will be helping the process to get
going and then staying out of the way of that work. You all need to clarify
what is essential about the church’s identity and then ask, in a really open
way, how the church might grow into an exciting future. It is possible that
we may even bring in some folks to help the church work through that
process.
In the meantime, all the things that we’ve grown to love will continue
between now and June 2025: worship, “Think Again,” Church Ladies, the
men’s group, youth group, Sunday school. Work Trip 2024 will be our last
work trip, though. As my track coach used to tell me, “Run past the tape!”
Rest assured, we will.
The Union Church of Lake Bluff is an amazing place full of really great
people. I believe there are compelling candidates out there looking for a
church like this. Let’s do the work together so that the church is ready
when you meet those candidates.