Carly's Retiring? What?

We ran out of time for a number of questions asked in worship on February 19. Here are responses to those questions.  Red questions were submitted on line.  Blue questions were hand written submissions from Sunday.

A quick reminder that these are my opinions. They do not represent any "official" position of First Congregational Church of La Grange, or of the United Church of Christ. 

A Guest Post from Church Moderator Jean O'Brien to respond to the question: 

• What is the church leadership doing to prepare for the transitions of Rev. Carly's retirement in 2024?

As you likely have heard, Carly is planning on retiring in a little more than a year at the end of May 2024.  Thankfully, there are processes in place to help us as we shift from her leadership to the next phase in our congregation's life.  In addition to the formal processes, leadership has made other important plans to assist in a smooth transition.

Mechanically, it will look something like this:  Our Call Agreement with Carly requires her to give the church 90 days' notice of her intent to leave.  The council will then contact the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ to request assistance in finding an interim pastor.  Like most churches, our plan is to get an interim pastor to bridge the gap between permanent pastors.  Interims serve congregations as agents of change and help us be ready to find a fitting permanent leader to take us forward.  Ideally, we will have an interim pastor in place immediately following Carly's departure.  

In addition to the interim pastor and this traditional process, Carly has inspired the Council to start up the Futuring (Futures?) Team as a means of beginning to think about the church independent of Carly or, really, any of us!  The process involves 

1. Envisioning our hopes and dreams for the distant future

2. Planning our near future

3. Restructuring our perception of HOW and WHY we do church

All of these ideas come together to help us define who we are now and who we want to be in the future.  How we think about these concepts will assist us as we go about searching for the spiritual guide who will help us walk that road.    When we are closer to the end of Carly's ministry with us, we will receive guidance from one of the Associate Conference Ministers on how to proceed through this process. 

The book A Sure Foundation  provides Carly and the leadership team a timeline and guide to follow for the retirement of our pastor and our steps forward.  Our immediate future should be a period of discernment, reflection and wild dreaming!  All are invited to walk this journey!