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October 26, 2025
Dear siblings in Christ –
We are excited to share the news that the Committee on Ministry (COM) of Shenandoah Presbytery has approved us to form a Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC)! This is an exciting next step in our transition journey.
Since Rev. Ann Pettit’s departure, we have been working to discern faithful responses to the four questions that COM posed to us in the Spring. Many of you have joined us in this work by sharing your feedback through our congregational survey and in the “Session Dialogue” small group conversations. We also gathered feedback from our staff. We then analyzed all of the feedback and created a report answering each of the four questions. COM received that report at their October meeting and agreed that we have done our due diligence in discerning the needs for the ministry to which God is calling us now and in the future.
You may click here to read a brief summary of the report. The longer report is also available upon request in the church office.
Our next step is electing a Pastor Nominating Committee. The job of the PNC is to present a candidate to become our next Co-Pastor alongside Pastor Keith. The congregation will then vote on whether to confirm the call of this candidate. There is a lot of work before this can take place. This work centers on discernment.
A member of the PNC must be an active member of the congregation. They should have the ability to share their time, energy, bandwidth, and gifts to the work. They should be team players. And the assembled team should closely represent the people of MPC. Most importantly, each member of the PNC should be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as God guides the committee towards the person who will be our next Co-Pastor.
The work of nominating people to form the PNC falls on the Congregational Nominating Committee. This committee consists of Session members Ric Leobold (chair) and David Allen, along with at-large members Emily Burkholder, Chris Hamilton, Gus Scheidt, and Nancy Wayland. Once they have a slate of six nominees for the PNC, a congregational meeting will be called for the purpose of electing the PNC.
We will be sharing much more about the transition process in the near future. Above all else, please continue to pray for your Session and Nominating Committee, and listen for the movement of the Holy Spirit within you should you feel that you may be called to serve on the PNC.
Grace and peace,
Your Session
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