We’re trying something new, beginning this month. Pastor Wendy and I have assembled committees whose job it is to help us do our jobs better. These are called Mutual Ministry committees and they spring from the idea that through feedback and thoughtful conversation, we can improve how we do our ministry at Saint Nicholas. Pastor Wendy and I each chose our own committees in consultation with Council President Ann Wolfgang. Surprisingly, there was no overlap in membership between the two committees. The committees haven’t met yet, but I’m looking forward to the first meetings.

As kind and thoughtful as this congregation is (and it is very kind and thoughtful), it’s hard to get accurate feedback on what we are doing right and what we might do differently. Part of the reason is that there aren’t very many good forums for this kind of talk – conversation in the “handshake line” while leaving the service probably isn’t ideal. A second reason is that giving feedback that is helpful and honest requires a covenant of sorts, a covenant of mutual expectations, mutual history, mutual respect, and, well, mutual ministry. So, we and the committees will spend some time together working on establishing expectations, developing trust, and learning how to talk with one another honestly and helpfully.

The following people have agreed to take part in the committees:

Pastor Greg’s Committee
Kim Berche
Kathy Dangin
Bob Finlayson
Carolyn Lenz
Ann Wolfgang

Pastor Wendy’s Committee
Kay Aronhalt
Sean Demme
Amare Merz
Sheila Poole
Tim Schwartz

If you would like one of the pastors to know about your views on something but you would not want to talk with the pastor directly, you can feel free to talk with one of their Mutual Ministry Committee members. There are some ground rules, of course, and one of them is that we won’t use anonymous feedback. Anonymous feedback is almost impossible to do anything with. So, when you talk with one of the committee members, they will tell you that they can’t pass on information to the committee unless the committee knows who the information came from. Please know that the committee and the pastors are glad to hear your ideas and suggestions, and, yes, critical comments as well.

Many of you have experiences with committees like these. Some of these experiences are good ones, and some are less good. We think that it is important to do the best ministry we can at Saint Nicholas and that the Mutual Ministry Committees can be helpful. But we also know that we all bring a lot of emotion to our church lives and we don’t understand some of these emotions very well. Some of these emotions go back to other settings, some even to when we were growing up in our own families. Committees and calm conversations can help to dial down emotions and make our work together more constructive and uplifting. I write this before we have had any major issues in my pastorate, but knowing that eventually some hard rain is likely to come.

Join with me in thanking these people for agreeing to do a difficult job – helping us improve the ways we minister to one another. And join with me in helping to make this difficult job easier by offering both positive and negative comments, by pairing comments with suggestions and by examining your own emotions carefully. We are in the business of building up – building on faith, building the North Wing, building the Kingdom. Be a part of it!

Pastor Greg