We are a suburban church in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with an active membership ~ 90 seeking a solo Pastor.

Specific Duties include:

Worship responsibilities:

• Consistently provide a scripturally based, spiritually nourishing, and thoughtful worship service.
• Facilitate participation by the congregation.
• Provide inspirational, educational, relevant sermons.
• Administer sacraments

Pastoral care:

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to Spirit of Life, and involvement in our activities.
• Minister to those in need.
• Actively help members reflect on the spiritual dimension of life by providing opportunities for sharing and exploring views as individuals and in groups.
• Promote fellowship and leadership in the congregation.

Community & Church Growth:

• Actively lead the congregation in hospitable outreach, and grow the church.

Teaching responsibilities:

• Teach and interpret the scriptures.
• Provide instruction for Session, Deacons, leaders, confirmands and new members.
• Facilitate adult education, youth and children’s education.

Administrative responsibilities:

• Leading and moderating Session meetings.
• Provide leadership and support of other committees, as needed.
• Guide and support Church policies

 
To get a better look at us:  http://www.spiritoflifeav.org

You can find further position information on the Presbyterian Church USA site: https://clc.pcusa.org/aspx/CIFViewQuery.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2faspx%2fOpportunitySearchResults.aspx&cif=59641.AA

To apply contact: Jeff Parker, Designated Pastor Nominating Committee at JeffDParker@hotmail.com

Job Category: Senior Pastor (Determine if Solo Pastor is a category)
Job Status: Full-time
Denomination: Presbyterian
Worship Style: Multiple styles

The study topic for these two years is called “Belonging to the Body,” where the group will ask questions about what it means to belong to a church or to any community in this modern age of technological over-connection and spiritual alienation.  Each month the group will spend the fourth Wednesday and Thursday at the ARC retreat center outside of Cambridge, MN.

Congrats to Phil, Kara and Jamie!

First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Minnesota seeks a Part-time Treasurerposition.    Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, copies of transcripts and references to Ann Lewis, First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, 602 Vermillion Street, Hastings, MN or email: odoulsforever@comcast.net. Position Description attached.  Questions can be directed to the email address.

Title: Treasurer
Reports To: Personnel Committee in conjunction with pastoral staff
Position Status: Part Time
Position Summary: To provide financial services to church Session, staff and members

Job Responsibilities and Duties:

1. To keep confidential all financial contribution information.
2. To enter all invoices and reimbursements submitted for payment, cut checks, sign, date, and distribute appropriately on a weekly basis.
3. To balance and reconcile checking account on a monthly basis.
4. To prepare and present to Session a one paragraph summary of all transactions that transpired during the reporting period.
5. To prepare monthly reports for the church Session.
6. To process payroll as instructed by the personnel ministry team.
7. To prepare monthly, quarterly and yearly payroll tax forms and make necessary deposits as well as prepare W- 2s at year-end.
8. To back up the computer system on a bi-weekly basis.
9. To prepare for and cooperate with those appointed to perform a yearly audit of financial records.
10. To prepare year-end financial reports for annual meeting.
11. To perform other necessary and related work as may be assigned.

Job Skills and Requirements

1. A minimum of an associate’s degree in accounting or related discipline area.
2. Practical experience in fund-based accounting and account reconciliation.
3. Dependable attendance at Session meetings during the reporting time.
4. Demonstrated proficiency in computer skills including Word and Excel and/or specific fund-based accounting software.
5.  Attention to detail and precision in account reconciliation and report generation.
6. A commitment to maintaining interpersonal relationships, teamwork and support of church ministries.
7. A commitment to confidentiality regarding all account records, both of the church and staff, and its members.
8. A demonstrated Christian faith commitment.

Expectations

1.   Complete weekly timesheet for recordkeeping purposes.
2. Arrives promptly for Treasurer’s report and questions at Session meeting and is excused for the remainder of meeting.
3. Distributes monthly Treasurer’s report two days prior to the monthly stated Session meeting.
4. Reimbursement vouchers will be paid on a weekly basis.
5. All church accounting will be completed onsite with attention to confidentiality of data. In addition to backing up information bi-weekly all financial information should be maintained on the church computer.
6. Maintain positive, approachable and constructive demeanor in all interpersonal relationships.

Evaluation and Compensation

The Treasurer works directly under the pastor and the personnel committee and receives yearly evaluation by personnel unless otherwise stated.  Compensation is reviewed annually.

• February 4 at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. 10AM-Noon.

• February 9 at the Minnesota Church Center, in Minneapolis, 7-9PM.

• February 11 at First Presbyterian in Rochester. 10AM-Noon.
• February 16 at Macalester-Plymouth Church in St. Paul. 2-4PM.

We would also like for you to share your concerns and questions electronically. Send them to graciousseparation@ptcaweb.org. You can also share your views in the comments section at the bottom of this page. Please remember to keep your comments civil and respectful. We look forward to hearing from you!

Gracious Separation Policy Draft

     To apply, please send a Cover Letter, Resume, and Contact Information for two Reference persons to office@ptcaweb.org by April 2, 2012.  A search committee from the Nominating + Personnel Committees will review the applications.  We hope to be able to name a candidate one to two weeks before the May Presbytery meeting.

Position Description

Elected by:  Presbytery 

Accountable to: Presbytery

Job Summary

The Stated Clerk serves as corporate secretary under the Minnesota Non-profit Corporation Act (MN Stat. Chapter 317.A) and shall write all official correspondence of the Presbytery.

The Stated Clerk shall record the transactions of the body, keep its rolls of membership and attendance including the rolls of all Certified Christian Educators and Certified Associate Christian Educators and all Ruling Elders commissioned to particular pastoral service, preserve its records, and furnish extracts from them when required by another council of the church. Such extracts, verified by the clerk, shall be evidence in any council of the church. (G-3.0104)

The Stated Clerk serves as the principle staff resource to the Permanent Judicial Commission, the Bills and Overtures Committee and administrative commissions, and resources the work of the Nominating Committee. At the direction of the Executive Presbyter the Stated Clerk may provide staff services to the Board of Trustees and the Committee on Ministry.

Duties & Essential Job Functions:

As Corporate Secretary:

1.    Executes legal documents on behalf of the Presbytery, as directed, and is authorized to sign checks.

2.    Files the Annual registration Statement for Non-profit corporations.

Maintenance of Records

1.    Serves as liaison with the Office of The General Assembly, exchanging and submitting statistics as requested, exchanging and transmitting information to congregations, overseeing sessions’ filing of statistics.

2.    Coordinates the submission of all session reports to Presbytery as well as the non-parish pastor’s reports.

3.    Determines time and venue for annual review of session minutes and presenting the continuing education necessary for session clerks. Generally this is a minimum of two Saturdays, plus individual reviewing the minutes of those clerks who do not attend those meetings.

4.    Maintains, reviews and recommends any needed changes to the Manual of Operations, policies and procedures, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

5.    Oversees the publication/editing of membership directory.

Resourcing the Meetings of Presbytery and Council

1.    Recommends the selection of venues and oversees preparation for each Council meeting including setting of docket; taking minutes and preparation of minutes.

2.    Writes call for Presbytery meeting; solicits request for docket time; in addition coordinates the work of the Council and worship committee in preparation of the Presbytery docket/agenda. Attends Presbytery meeting and oversees taking of minutes; reviews minutes and prepares final minutes before publication.

3.     Trains and directs work of assistant Clerk

Provision of Staff Services

1.    Serves as principle staff to the Bills and Overtures Committee of the Presbytery and the Permanent Judicial Commission to interpret the Constitution, the decisions of the General Assembly and subsequent amendments to the Constitution in the case of Bills and Overtures. For the Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC), facilitates the work of the commission, training of the PJC and Investigative Committee (IC), providing support to both sides involved in the judicial process.

2.    Trains all administrative commissions and Commissioners to the General Assembly, as needed and serves as resource.

3.    Provides staff services to the Board of Trustees and Committee on Ministry in the absence of, or at the direction of the Executive Presbyter. For COM interprets polity, facilitating transfer of teaching elders, candidates and inquirers to and from other presbyteries.

4. Resources the Nominating Committee, informing the chair of all resignations, and of new persons available to serve on various committees.

5. Performs other duties as assigned by Executive Presbyter.

Relationships:

1.     Attends weekly staff meetings.

2.     Attend annual Synod review of minutes.

3.     Attend Polity conference annually

4.    Optional attendance at General Assembly

Qualifications:

Required:

1.    Must be a Teaching or Ruling elder (G-3.0104), and eligible for membership in the Presbytery.

2.    Possess a working knowledge of the Constitution and their practical application in the life of the church.

3.    Knowledgeable of parliamentary procedure/Roberts Rules of Order.

4.    Detail oriented.

Physical Requirements:

1.    Work is primarily sedentary in nature, no special demands are required.

2.    Computer skills.

Term of Office:

1.     The Stated Clerk is elected by the Presbytery for a 3 year term and is eligible for an additional three-year term following an end-of-term review.

2. The Stated Clerk may be removed from office prior to completion of his or her term of service through the use of the process outlined in G-3.0110. (G-3.0104)
3. The provisions of the Personnel Policies of the Presbytery shall apply to the Stated Clerk, as exempt employee currently at 24 hours per week.

Under the theme “Networking and Collaborating Together in Ministry,” the event will include breakout sessions on such topics as church communications, facilities/building management, Christian Education and Mission.  A keynote is also being scheduled during the Saturday morning conference.

Information on cost and registration will follow shortly.

The Presbyterian Partnership is made up of six Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations in the Northern Twin Cities Metropolitan area.  These include: Arlington Hills Presbyterian in St. Paul, Chain of Lakes New Church Development in Lino Lakes, North Como Presbyterian Church in Roseville, Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview, and First Presbyterian Church, White Bear Lake.

At our Presbytery meeting of January 14^th, we got a look at the draft of a “Gracious Separation” policy for Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. This document is a work in progress. It was crafted by an excellent Task Force comprising of; the Rev Sheila Gustafson, the Rev. David Lenz; ruling elders; Gordon Dosher, Vince Gin, and Pam Van Gorham; and staffed by Stated Clerk Nancy Grittman and myself. Over the next 7 weeks we are asking presbyters to assist in the final edition by commenting through our email address graciousseparation@ptcaweb.org, by contacting a Council member directly, see the Gray Directory on the website, or by attending an open forum meeting, currently scheduled for Saturday, February 4^th at House of Hope in St. Paul and Saturday,  February 11^th at First Presbyterian in Rochester from 10 am to noon. A midweek gathering is scheduled for Thursday, February 9th at the Minnesota Church Center (122 W. Franklin) in Minneapolis from 7PM-8:30PM . Please supply your input so that we have a policy we can all affirm.

One question that comes up is; Why do we even need such a policy? The history of this project goes back to the 218^th General Assembly in San Jose, in 2008. That Assembly passed an action urging Presbyteries to develop a Gracious Separation policy to deal with congregations who are struggling with their relationship to the PC(USA) over theological issues. When I first came to PTCA, I was approached by a handful of pastors urging me to move our Presbytery to adopt such a policy. I confess that this was not a high priority for me in my early days. I felt that developing such a policy was akin to negotiating divorce settlements before going to counseling. I have since observed a level of misunderstanding and even lack of trust on both sides of the issue of possible separation. I have come to believe that establishing a policy that sets the procedure and ensures fairness is an important step in engendering honesty and openness in such a process. This will hopefully allow us as a presbytery to deal with theological differences without resorting to civil courts.

One thing I do want to emphasize is the process of the GSP Task Force. They began their work back in the Spring of 2011. In the months that passed they had an experience similar to that described by the Peace, Unity, and Purity Task Force of the General Assembly some 6-7 years ago now. While no minds were changed as a result of our meetings, a much deeper appreciation for the opinions and feelings of others was established and strong collegial relationships were formed. Each member of the Task Force saw the issue in a way that they had not experienced previously and graciousness became a habit rather than an exercise. The tone of this document reflects that graciousness. Grace can be a difficult attribute to share, but I believe it is the attribute that God intends for us to give to one another as members of Christ’s Church, and model to the world. I still recall with humility a conversation with a secular media reporter while serving in another presbytery. After discussing the issues between the presbytery and a departing congregation, he asked with a sense of incredulity, “I don’t think I understand what this fight is about?” This is not to say that the theological differences we are dealing with aren’t real or serious, but to many who don’t share our deep passion for theology and the church it is a puzzling debate. A church that can’t demonstrate grace is a church that struggles with relevance to the world beyond our walls.

What I can say about this proposed policy is, it is an imperfect document for an imperfect situation. Please read it with a sense of grace, think through the parts you don’t like and ask yourself, why you don’t like them. I know this is not the manner I would choose as perfect, but negotiating through serious differences leads to compromise, and grace leads to the possibility of solutions.

Over the next few weeks I will write blogs on each of the sections in this policy, Prologue, Discernment Process, and Appendices. I encourage you to continue your reading and pondering, write in on our email address, call a council member, and attend one of the gatherings that are scheduled. We are striving together to create a document, that we might not necessarily like, but with which we can live.

In God’s grace,

Chaz

Chaz Ruark is the Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area.

As we fearlessly follow the Holy Spirit into a changing world, this seminar will help our churches: