Call Process

Call Team Updates

Update! September 25, 2024

This summer the Call Team presented a survey to the congregation asking for support to secure a recruiting company to assist us in our search for an Associate Pastor. We received some helpful feedback and determined that at this time, the congregation was not in favor of a recruiter. The feedback received did help us to discern that our congregation would like more information about the call process, and to better understand our needs and our next steps. Working in conjunction with the Vision Council and Pastor Darwin Stahl (retired care pastor) our Call Team recorded a series of videos to be used in worship to inform our congregation of the process. These videos will also be posted on our social media channels and our webpage. We appreciate the ongoing prayers and support of our congregation during this process. We have resposted our job description on LCMC’s webpage and on two church staffing webpages.

Update! July 2, 2024

The Call Team met Sunday, June 23 to discuss next steps, as we are committed to the purpose and intent of the Call. At that meeting, we have reviewed the LCMC website and the pastors available for a call. The reality is there are 14 pastors available to take a call with 74 open LCMC ministry positions. At this time, the Call Team is:

·         reaching out to each of these pastors

·         contacting several colleges, seminaries, camps and other contacts

·         in communication with colleagues to discern interest in a part time call/interim role.

Our team is doing our best to remain hopeful and trust in God’s timing. However, our Call Team is well aware that the demands of ministry at HLC continue. Pastor Andrea continues to try to cover and serve all the church ministries, believing in the Mission and ministry of Hawley Lutheran.

 We write this update to be transparent, open, and brutally honest. Due to the challenges outlined above, our Call Team is exploring the possibility of hiring a recruiting company to aid in our efforts. Please take the time to read the full letter here, and fill out the survey (closed August 1, 2024) with your vote on our next steps.

Update! September 19, 2023

At our Vision Council Meeting, the Call Team’s Position Profile was unanimously approved. Pastor Andrea Paulson was directed to post the position on LCMC, webpage and other channels. An announcement about this exciting step will be made in worship on Wednesday, September 20 and Sunday, September 23. We ask all congregations members to pray for this position, and the candidates who may be discerning a call to HLC.

Update! September 17, 2023

Our Call Team met today to review the surveys collected from the congregation. The survey responses indicated we’re on the right track with our Call Profile Draft, with a couple minor adjustments. Pending Council Discussion and Approval, we hope to have the position posted here and on LCMC’s webpage by the end of the month. We discussed procedures for the next step of the call process, including establishing an email address for the call team. We also shared our goals, hopes and expectations of the next step. We humbly ask our congregation to be in prayer for this team, our call process and the candidate God is calling to Hawley Lutheran.

If you have questions, or to share your prayers and support, please email Jana Fischer: callteam@hawleylutheran.org

Update! September 2023

In July and August, the Call Team worked together to discern what it means to pastor at HLC and what assumptions our congregation has about lead/associate pastor roles. We have discussed at length the expectations of Pastor Andrea, weekly duties she attends to and demands on her time. We assessed Pastor Andrea’s gifts, talents and areas of interest, as well as working through areas she feels she would like to share and/or delegate leadership. We have had frutiful discussions! We have created a draft Pastoral Profile. To view this profile, contact Jana Fischer.

On Rally Day, we provided a survey to get insight from our congregation. If you would like to complete that survey, contact Jana Fischer, Katie Lowry or Pastor Andrea Paulson. Based on our survey results, we will reassess and adjust our Pastoral Profile draft.

Update! July 2023
At this time, our Call Team is being finalized, with plans to hold our first meeting in mid-July. The Call Team will begin to create a Pastoral Call Profile that best meets the needs of our congregation. Once the Call Profile is approved, we will begin the process of posting and communcating with potential canditates. Our prayer is a candidate who is passionate about Pastoral Care, wants to “compliment” the team God has in place already, has a heart for Jesus and longs to see Hawley Lutheran live out its mission in mighty ways. We ask all HLC members to join in this prayer during this exciting time.

A Note About Timing

It is important to remember we are not looking for a candidate, we’re trusting God to reveal the right candidate. We believe God is already working on the heart of someone called to be a part of this ministry. We believe God is already nudging someone to a new opportunity to serve for God’s glory. We also know giving God praise for what he might do next means trusting in his timing. We ask all HLC members to join our prayer for patience, wisdom and discernment during this process.

Questions or Comments

If you have questions about the assessment or recommendation process, reach out to Pastor Darwin. If you have questions about the broader vision for our staffing and this specific role, reach out to Pastor Andrea or any member of our Vision Council. We would love to hear from you and share how we believe God is moving. We are excited for where God is leading us, for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14)

Again, we humbly request that all members of our church family be in prayer:

• for patience, wisdom, discernment

• for the call process and call team

• for the person God is preparing to join our ministry team, congregation and community

• for the financial needs related to calling a second pastor