Presidents Letter to the Congregation for August 2008:

Dear Friends in Christ,

We are all still reeling from the news about Pastor Tim’s decision and by the time this is in your hands, he will be well on his way to Sioux Falls. As a native South Dakotan and 23 year resident there, I know that they will enjoy it, cold and all (it is a dry cold). As we have been discussing this with Tim over the past several weeks, he has always told us that Living Water is Christ’s Church and not Tim Selbo’s Church. Most of us know that there was certainly a strong partnership of both that made Living Water what it is today.

Now, I have to tell you how impressed I have been with the Congregation as a whole since the news was released. Yes, I had calls from some that said it was time for them to move on! Overwhelmingly, however, the message I received was a whole lot better. I cannot tell you how many people have called me, emailed me or summoned me aside at a Sunday service to say: “Ken, I know how much the Council is going to be challenged over the next few months and I want to let you know that I will help out in any way possible.” “Let me know what we can do to help.” As a Council Member, I cannot tell you how much this means to me and fellow Council Members. I can assure you that we will be looking to many for help as we move ahead positively. There are many Ministry Team positions open today and we will hope to fill them soon. We need these teams to help lead Living Water forward.

We are very fortunate to have Pastor Kifer with us as a solid foundation of our past as we go through the “interim” period. She will continue her role as Associate Pastor and relieve a big responsibility to the incoming Interim Senior Pastor. At around the time you receive this, we hope to be able to tell you who will be our Interim Senior Pastor. Pastor Kifer and I have talked about this process and she is totally committed to making this a smooth transition; she will work closely with the Interim Pastor. We are blessed to have her with us to help through this time. I know that the Congregation stands behind her and is willing to do all they can to help out with her Ministry as we go forward.

At our July 6 Sunday service, we took Congregational Photos and then more on the 13^th. What I saw in these photos was the great love by our Congregation members for the Selbo family. I also saw excitement from the Congregation about the Selbos’ great opportunity as they move on to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. I think I even saw excitement about this move in all of the Selbo family, although with some trepidation. We know that they will find much happiness in their new home and Congregation and have many life long memories of this experience.

On July 20^th, we became a Congregation that needs all of our strength to pull us together and come out of this time stronger as a result of everyone’s efforts. We have a lot of potential new members attending at this time. Let’s put our best foot forward and show them that we are Christ’s Church and they are welcome amongst us, just as you have done for the past 11 years!

Once again, thank you to Pastor Tim Selbo for his vision, his leadership and his faith that has brought Living Water to where we are today and I ask that we all work together to fulfill his wish that we move ahead as a unified Congregation to continue our Mission; “To Be and Make Disciples of Jesus Christ”.

In Christ

Ken Walker

Council President

Dear Living Water Members, Winter Members, Former Members and Friends of the Selbo Family,

In an effort to keep the lines of communication wide open during our time of change at Living Water Lutheran Church, where on July 20^th it will be Pastor Tim Selbo’s last service with us before his move to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we are sending along this update along with a few reminders in general.

FAREWELL BRUNCH FOR THE SELBO FAMILY

GRAYHAWK GOLF CLUB—FAIRWAY HOUSE

JULY 20^TH 2008

11:00am Coffee Hour
12:00pm Brunch Buffet
11:00am - 1:00pm Cash Bar available
1:00pm Program
Donations to offset the costs of $ 30 per adult & $ 15 per child under 12 will be appreciated.

ALL ARE INVITED—PLEASE JOIN US IN SENDING THE SELBO’S OFF WITH GREAT MEMORIES.

Sign up in the Church Narthex, Online at WWW.LWLCAZ.ORG

or call the Church Office at 480.473-8400
 

GIFTS FOR THE SELBO FAMILY

There have been questions about gifts for Pastor Tim and family.  The Congregation will be presenting them with a gift of appreciation and will be something easy to transport as a memento of their time with us.   Many of the Congregation have elected to give a monetary gift to the family to help with the multitude of needs that will arise from their move.  You can do this by cash or by Check made payable to Tim Selbo.  You can do this as a direct gift to Tim directly or in a card from your family.  If you wish to remain anonymous, you can make the check payable to Tim Selbo and give it to Janis Fjeld or Marcia Page in the Church office and they will make a single deposit to the Selbo account from members of the Congregation.  Your name will be listed on the card that is given, but the amount will be anonymous. 

TRANSITION UPDATE

Just below this correspondence is a “Transition Update” which is the first of many updates to keep the Congregation up to date on what is going on during this time of change.  These will always be most current on the Church web site on the home page as “Transition Updates”.  Our goal is to over communicate for everyone so use as needed.

Best Regards

Step 1 - Your Pastor Resigns, Accepts a Call or Retires

Adele discussed the key steps following resignation including notification to the Bishop of his/her intent to resign (completed), notification to the congregation (completed), farewell celebration for outgoing pastor held (scheduled for 7/20), Church Council meets with the Bishop or Assistant to the Bishop to discuss the interim ministry during the pastoral vacancy and explains the call process (completed) and the Personnel Committee conducts an exit interview with the pastor (completed).

Step 2 – Interim Ministry Begins

Adele discussed the process for securing an Interim Senior Pastor. This person will be appointed by the Bishop and ratified by the Church Council. He/she will be assigned full-time to Living Water to continue the ministry vs. merely be a fill in and will receive a compensation package appropriate for a Senior Pastor. This approach, called the “Intentional Interim Ministry Process” was adopted as a resolution by the Grand Canyon Synod at the June 2008 meeting. The process is intended to enable congregations with a vacancy to move forward vs. stand still as the call process takes place. Often called “Faster Pastors,” Interim Pastors are selected because they are very intuitive people that can read an environment, develop relationships quickly, provide good preaching and be very objective. They go through extensive training in preparation for this role and will help us to determine what is important to Living Water and what pastoral leadership we need in our new Senior Pastor. The Interim Pastor will not be available for call by Living Water. Given the expected length of the call process (6-9 months after the congregational profile is received by the synod office, 1-1 ¼ years in total), an Interim Pastor is needed to make sure the ministry continues to prosper. It is considered a best practice in the ELCA. The synod hopes to have the Interim Senior Pastor identified and available to meet with the Council during the week of July 21. If the Council ratifies the Synod’s recommendation, he/she will be issued a call from the Synod council and resign his/her current position.

During the Interim Ministry, the Council will appoint a task force responsible for completing the Congregational Profile. The Profile will include the history of the church, past and present pastors, membership makeup, budget, ministry priorities and references. Adele will be available to serve on the task force. The Council will also recommend Call Committee members for congregational approval. Adele recommends that the call committee include only lay people, a variety of member tenures (new members, founding members, etc.), and people that can focus on the ministry and the church vs. their own agenda. She recommends a maximum of 7 people plus an alternate with an equal male/female split. At least one Council member should serve as a liaison.

Step 3 – Call Committee Tasks, Step 4 – The Congregation Calls a Pastor and Step 5 – Your New Pastor Begins.

Over the next few weeks, our focus should remain on thanking Pastor Tim for his superb leadership as both the Mission Pastor and Settled Senior Pastor of Living Water and giving him and his family a great sendoff. We are blessed to have a wonderful Associate Pastor, Marcia Kifer, in our midst. Her role at Living Water will continue and will be very important during this time of transition.

We have a strong church and an incredible congregation. We need to work together to prosper and grow throughout this transition. The head of the church is Christ. The body of Christ is the people. We are the church!

Thank you,

Living Water Church Council

To All Members of Living Water Lutheran Church,

This week we all heard or read what we knew would some day be inevitable but have always held out hope that it would not happen! Pastor Tim has accepted a call to another congregation. I know that many of you, just like it was with Julie Ann and me, visited Living Water one time while we were looking for a Church home. We heard Pastor Tim’s message, felt the warmth of the Congregation and made the snap decision that this was our new Church. I have heard this story again and again over the years that we have been members. In the nine years that we have been here, I certainly feel that I am a better Christian as a result of Tim’s efforts.

Now it is time for Pastor Tim, who was the Mission Pastor for LWLC to move on to another Call. He has labored over this decision but has made his choice and will be moving to South Dakota later in July. It is now time for us all to keep the Selbo family in our prayers and wish them the best for their move.

The Council has met and began the task of planning the Transition that will occur at LWLC. There will be many more meetings of the Council along with the Grand Canyon Synod as we work through the planning of our future. It is our objective to move this along as quickly as possible, but those of you that have been through a change like this before, know it will take a little time.

You will receive communications over the next few weeks on dates and events that will occur. This will come through letters to your home, the Monthly Newsletter, www.lwlcaz.org and the Weekly Bulletins. The Council is committed to strong Communications during this process. We have a strong and unified Congregation and know that Living Water will continue on its mission: “To Be and Make Disciples of Christ”.

There are going to be many thoughts, concerns and ideas as we go through this process of replacing Pastor Selbo. If you have any questions or concerns, please call or visit with any of our council members

Our absolute best wishes to the Selbo family and thanks for the opportunity to have shared a number of years together and for building Living Water Lutheran Church into a vibrant home of worship.

Sincerely,

Ken Walker