A Pastoral Letter from the Board of Elders of Metropolitan Community Churches

Again he said, "What shall we say the dominion of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." (Mark 4: 30 - 32)
 
Dear MCC Saints:
 
It is easy to forget that MCC is a young and growing movement. We still live in the land of  "firsts" - breaking new ground, exploring new territory, sailing uncharted waters. For the first time ever this year, we elected a Moderator and then, as part of this new day, we were welcomed into the National Cathedral, Washington DC, USA, for the installation service of Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson.

Following this historic occasion, Rev. Elder Wilson led the Board of Elders in a retreat day, reminding us of our need to keep sacred the Sabbath, in order to maintain our spiritual, emotional and physical health as leaders in MCC. This retreat day blessed us as we continued our meetings together. Ms Judy Dale, Chair of the Board of Administration, and Rev. Dr. Cindi Love, Executive Director, joined us for the rest of our time together, to continue our commitment to good communication and mutual service.
 
News around the Fellowship

We received, with regret, the resignation of Rev. Elder Gill Storey, who has served Region 7 for the past three years and was instrumental in the development of the International Gathering Fund. We thank her for her ministry and her commitment to serving the global movement of MCC. Churches in Region 7 will be served by Rev. Elders Lillie Brock and Arlene Ackerman until the end of the year.
 
Rev. Don Eastman has been serving the congregations in Region 2. The Board of Elders voted to appoint Rev. Jim Mitulski to be the Elder serving Region 2, with immediate effect. Rev. Mitulski offers wide experience, a commitment to social justice and a pastor's heart to this ministry.
 
The members of the Geographic Review Board, Mr. Bruce Gray, Mr. Barry Hundley and Dr. Jonelle Neighbor, received a great deal of feedback from the listening posts they held at General Conference and have continued to be in dialogue with the Board of Elders and Board of Administration. At this meeting, the GRB presented its final report to the Board of Elders about proposed changes to regional boundaries. We are now be a period of consultation, using an on-line survey and the final decision about boundary changes will be made by the Board of Elders and the Board of Administration in mid-December. Any boundary changes will come into effect on January 1, 2006. We express our thanks and appreciation for the hard work, commitment and attention to detail shown by the Geographic Review Board.
 
Members of the Lay Ministry Council are appointed by the Board of Elders. We were pleased to re-appoint Mr. Shawn Henderson, Ms. Marsha Stevens and Mr. Randi Williams and to appoint Ms.  Jan Miels for a two-year term. They join Mr. Mel Johnson and Mr. Bryan Parker, who serve as Chair and Vice Chair. The members of the LMC are based in Canada, USA and Australia.
 
Since coming into the office, the Board of Elders has sought to find new and innovative ways to build God’s dominion in partnership with local churches. At this meeting, it was wonderful to see how each of these "seeds" has taken root and is growing.

Church Planting and Revitalization

One hundred people took part in the all-day Institute led by the Church Planting Initiative at General Conference. The training materials from this Institute were given to every Elder and will be available on the MCC website in Spanish and English in the New Year. The resources will be translated into other languages as soon as possible. These training materials set out the guidelines for church planting, as we strive to plant healthy, well-resourced, well-led new congregations.
 
Two MCC congregations are already being supported by the Church Revitalization Initiative and a further four are in the process of being assessed, to ascertain their revitalization needs. More than 60 people from throughout the Fellowship have volunteered to serve on teams to support struggling congregations, enabling them to develop and grow. This Initiative can really make a difference in helping a congregation to turn around and more effectively serve God's people.
 
Development of new Local Church Resources

A common need has arisen from both church plants and established congregations that need additional resources - good quality materials that will support the basic functions of a church. The Board of Elders is calling this project "Church in a Box." Examples of the resources that will be included are a model constitution, a set of local church bylaws, a draft pastoral contract, sample orders of worship, and templates for a church newsletter. This will give a good starting point for a congregation and will model best practices in the various areas of church life.

Virtual On-line MCC coming soom

While we are committed to reaching as many people as possible through local churches, there are still many places where MCC is only a dream. The idea of a "Virtual MCC" is being developed and hopefully will be on-line by mid-2006. Worship services will be streamed from a variety of MCCs on the Internet, and prayer and pastoral support will be available through e-mail. It may be possible to connect people who are in the same area, so that they start to build community locally.

Local Church Annual Reports

In 2005, every church in the Fellowship was asked to complete and return an annual report to Headquarters and to the Elder serving their church. Information from these forms has been used by our Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Cindi Love, to show potential donors the wide range of effective ministries that local congregations undertake and how they support MCC's Strategic Plan developed by the Board of Elders. Regional Elders have been using the annual reports to develop resources and training. The "Church in a Box" project will also make use of the documents sent in by local churches as examples of good practice. A team from the Board of Elders is now working on the annual report form for 2006, taking into account feedback that has been received, to make this an even more effective tool for the local church and for the Fellowship.
 
Upcoming MCC Conferences

MCC is committed to constantly improving the conferences that we offer. The Board of Elders met the Conference Coordinator, Rev. Paul Fairley, to discuss regional conferences and how we can successfully bring together teams within regions, Regional Elders and the Conference Planning Team on Headquarters staff to provide regional conferences of the highest standard. We also approved the development of a Language Task Force, which will work with the Conference Planning team to ensure that General Conference is truly a multilingual, multicultural experience.

Welcoming new Congregations to MCC

As the debate about sexuality and spirituality continues to cause pain and conflict in other Christian denominations, some local churches outside MCC are looking for a new home. Rev. Elder Debbie Martin has developed a "first contact manual" which gives churches some basic information about MCC and the possibilities for affiliation. This will be a valuable resource, both for Elders and for local church pastors who may be approached by MCC churches in their area.
 
MCC Elders adopt Portfolio Model of Ministry

In order to effectively serve our movement and our local churches, the Board of Elders needs to minister in a new way. Each Elder brings a unique blend of experience, gifts and skills to the table. We are moving towards a portfolio style of working - each Elder will have a few key areas in which she or he has particular expertise and specialized ministry. This will be reflected in the work plans that each Elder is preparing for 2006. Every Elder has also now completed the first part of the 360 evaluation process and will create a personal development plan for 2006. This is the first time in our history that Elders have gone through a formal evaluation process and will have work plans for which they will be held accountable.

and in Conglusion ...

At every Board of Elders meeting, it is joy to be reminded that we serve local congregations. It was wonderful to join with MCC DC for Sunday worship and to be treated to an evening of food and entertainment at MCC Nova. We thank both these congregations for their hospitality and for their ministry to us. We were truly blessed.
 
This meeting of the Board of Elders marked the next stage of our journey together. Each new idea, initiative, project takes time to come to fruition, however it is wonderful to see how things are coming together and how we are moving forward to create God's dominion here on earth.
 
In Christ,

Board of Elders
Metropolitan Community Churches
 
Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator
Rev. Elder Don Eastman, Vice Moderator
Rev. Elder Debbie Martin, Region 1
Rev. Elder Jim Mitulski, Region 2
Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman, Regions 3 and 7
Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston, Region 4
Rev. Elder Diane Fisher, Region 5
Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, Region 6
Rev. Elder Lillie Brock, Regions 7 and 8
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