In truth, that headline is a lie. Of course things change. Unless they are dead.

Clarendon is not dead. Far from it. Indeed, in countless ways we are a vibrant congregation. Check out the pictures and the story below about our rebuild day last weekend and you will see with clarity the vibrancy of the congregation.

In fact, it is because we are vibrant that we are changing.

The question, then, is how shall we change?

The other article below comes by way of the staff design discernment task force and linked there you will find a description of the new ministry model they have recommended to session as well as a description of the process they used to discern this model and information on other models they considered on the way.

This Sunday we will hold a coffee-time conversation with members of the discernment group and session to respond to whatever questions you may have about the recommended ministry model.

I hope you have noticed the language here. We are talking about a new "ministry model," not merely a different staffing pattern. Thus, in profoundly important ways, the real work lies ahead of us if we choose to live into this new model.

We are changing because we are alive. This Sunday morning we will begin to answer the real question: how, then, shall we change? Come and be a part of the answer.

peace,

David

 

The staff design discernment task force, charged last October with developing a recommendation for a new ministry model for CPC, presented its recommendation to session last week. That recommendation, detailed in the document linked here, will be discussed by the congregation during a coffee hour Q&A session this Sunday.

 

Session will take the recommendation under consideration at its May 20 meeting, and has called a special congregational meeting Sunday, June 3, at which point the congregation will, in accordance with the constitution of the PC(U.S.A.), vote on any changes to pastoral terms of call.

 

As the letter last week to the congregation from the staff design group and session said, "As we move from a celebration of the risen Christ at Easter to the celebration of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, it is clear that the Spirit is at work at Clarendon."

 

Feel free to contact Karen Kimmel (working group chair) at  klkml@comcast.net or Travis Reindl (session liaison) at  travis.j.reindl@gmail.com if you have questions or comments at any time over the next several weeks.

 

For the fourth consecutive year Clarendon's crew of housing rehabbers brought hammers, saws, screw guns, paint rollers and brushes and various and sundry power tools to the work of ministry as about 15 CPC folks joined a like number of sisters and brothers from Falls Church Episcopal to rebuild together a 190-year-old house in the historic Falls Church neighborhood of Tinner Hill.

Under the patient guidance of our crew chief, Tom Hull, we replaced doors, painted walls and ceilings, fixed windows, replaced pipe, tightened decking, retiled a bathroom floor, and completed more than 80 tasks at the home of an extremely happy and grateful octogenarian, Mrs. Morris.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so for a whole bunch more, check out the Friends of Clarendon Facebook page for lots of pictures of a great day.

 

National Capital Presbytery is offering an neighborhood outreach workshop Saturday, May 12, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at Westminster Pres in DC. Jeff Krehbiel, pastor at Pilgrims, is leading this event and Jeff does good work. The details are available here. 

We've talked a lot about wanting to grow, to get better at outreach, to be more relational and connectional. Here's a hand-on opportunity to increase our capacity to do these things.

I'm planning to attend and would love to have group of Clarendon folks join me. Please consider, and let me know whether or not you can participate.