Redefinition of Wendy’s Call to Hope Lutheran

Posted on May 12, 2009

The following was sent out as an attachment to a congregational letter recently, which should arrive in your mailbox any day now. You may read the content of the letter by clicking here. The redefinition of Wendy’s call will be a topic during our May 17 congregational meeting.

Redefinition of Wendy’s Call to Hope Lutheran

Proposed Job Description for Word and Sacrament Ministry

Title: Associate Pastor of Ministry in Daily Life

  • She will continue to preach at least once per quarter – perhaps more around significant seasons – Lent, Holy Week, Advent and Christmas. She also will continue to preside at worship and over the Lord’s Supper as needed, particularly on Wednesday evenings.
  • She will continue to teach weekly the Timothy Project Bible Study (The Timothy Project Bible Study seeks to teach and study the entire Bible over a three-year period of time with attention given to the practice of spiritual disciplines. This is a significant equipping/training function of the congregation. Here at Hope, we are now on our second time of going through the entire Bible).
  • She will continue to teach regular (1-2 times/year) “call seminars” – teaching all people about God’s unique call for all of life: “ministry in daily life.”
  • Because of her experience and training, she will serve in an advisory role to ministry development (lay ministry development, launch of new ministries and missions, spiritual growth, training, and stewardship development) and the supervision of youth ministry interns. These previous functions of Wendy’s will be overseen and assumed by Matthew Cleaver.
  • All pastoral care requests will be referred to Pastor Joel. She will be available for pastoral emergencies when Pastor Joel is unavailable.
  • She will be sent by Hope, serving as “missionary” with Call inc. – non-profit Christian teaching mission organization, approved under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Call inc. is overseen and directed by a Board of Directors and Board of Advisors. Wendy’s ministry with Call inc. will be an extension of Hope’s mission and ministry. As with other missionaries and missional organizations, the Call inc. Board of Directors and Board of Advisors will oversee and direct all of her activities with Call inc. She will set-up and work from a home office with Call inc. For more info, see www.callinc.org.

Accountability: She will report her Call inc. activities to Hope’s congregation in a manner similar to Hope’s other missionaries. She will make reports to the congregation at both semi-annual meetings. She will provide the Call Inc. newsletters (issued 2-3 times/year) to the Council and congregation. She will make oral reports to the Council when requested. If desired, the Council may request a formal evaluation of Wendy’s responsibilities directly related to Hope from the Mutual Ministries Committee’s pastoral review team.

Office: She will maintain an office at Hope for the above responsibilities, but she will require no secretarial support from Hope’s secretary.

Hours: She will not keep regular office hours. Wendy’s hours devoted directly related to Hope’s ministry will be irregular. Hope hours (average/week over the course of a year): 2.5 hours. Call Inc. hours: 25 hours

Compensation: Call inc. is self-supporting and financially independent from Hope. Call inc. will assume responsibility for providing the resources for Wendy’s present compensation (salary, FICA offset, pension, disability) though Hope will administer and issue her compensation. Over and above Wendy’s present compensation, Hope will reimburse her for activities that are directly related to Hope’s ministry on a stipend basis for these tasks: $150 per Sun AM sermon (NTNL Synod recommends $200), $200/short class (4-8 sessions), $300 for Timothy Project (33 sessions/year, $150 payable in Dec/May). 2009 Cost: $450