Update from the Deacons - Fall 2022
Hello Peace Church and greetings from the Board of Deacons!
My name is John Reagan, the Board Chairman for the next two years. I am writing to update you on the Board of Deacons' goals for this year and to provide a few thoughts from the Board.
First, I want to thank you for the opportunity we have to serve as Deacons. We have a wonderful Deacon board who are committed to the mission of Peace Church. It has been my distinct pleasure to get to know and serve with each of our ten Deacons. We are sincerely open to feedback and encourage you to provide that to any of us whether it be a praise or a concern. Deacon email contact information can be found on the Peace website under Staff and Deacons.
Following the lead of Pastor Mark and Pastor David, the Peace Board of Deacons established four goals for this fiscal year (July 2022-June 2023). These goals are:
1. Begin the process of calling a new pastor
A pastor call team has been established with Mark Oldenberg as the team lead. The team consists of ten Peace members with the goal of finding just the right pastor for Peace in anticipation of Mark’s retirement within the next five years. We have established this a few years ahead of time to make sure we don’t rush the process and with the hope the new pastor is mentored by Mark and David and firmly established at Peace.
2. Support the Peace leadership staff in filling open positions
This is a support role for the Board of Deacons with staff leadership working to fill vacancies. There has been tremendous progress in this area in the last year.
3. Provide opportunities to promote community and unity
Gail Graese and Chuck Falch, for example, organized the fall kick-off lunch event that was a rousing success. We hope to organize another such event and welcome any input you may have on what this could look like. Also, three or four Deacons meet with staff over lunch once per quarter just to stay in touch and enjoy the fellowship of our wonderful staff. Finally, we hope to become more visible to you by meeting and greeting you on Sundays and perhaps even a few videos during service so you can get to know the board better.
4. Develop a Mission team at Peace Church
Anne Hartman is leading this team formation. If you have a passion for missions, please contact Anne.
I would like to close with a few items the board wants to encourage as we continue to move into the fall season:
Please consider joining a small group if you have not already. This is something my wife Betsey and I have done for most of our 40 years of marriage. It really does make a difference. People in small groups often feel more at home and become lifelong friends.
We are very encouraged to see so many people returning to church in person now that the concerns over Covid have lessened. The in-person average in September, for example, has increased by 20% over the February/March average. It has been so great to be able to see friends and make new friends again in person.
Daily Bible readings are available each week on the Peace website and through the Pulse. This is a great way to keep the focus on God each day. This is an area in which I need improvement and the daily readings matched to the weekly message makes it very easy.
We would encourage continued giving to Peace financially as you are led. We are somewhat behind in our giving plan through the first quarter of this year and look forward to the continued generosity of our church community.
Thank you again for being our church family,
John Reagan
