The church Committee and I have been pretty certain we were meant for each other for 3 months. The Congregational Meeting and vote was this past Sunday. I preached on Isaiah 43 1-7 and told them that God loves them, calls them and considers them precious; then I left the sanctuary while they had the congregational meeting and vote.
It was not unanimous. It might be too much to ask for unanimous, but it would have been nice.
Someone brought up 1 Timothy.
7 of the 48 who stayed voted against the call. I want to say voted against me, but it's not. Not really. It feels very personal, but it's not.
The moderator (a representative of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry) brought me the numbers and asked me if I wanted to accept the call under these conditions. I paused. I felt drenched in the cold shower of disappointment and hurt, but I told him it didn't change my sense of God's call to me to go to this place.
It's bitter sweet.
I have a call.
Time to brush up on my biblical apologetics for women in ministry.
Oh, and I have to go before Presbytery in a week. They'll want to think about a vote that was almost 20% "no" and whether I can successfully serve in that environment.
1 comment:
I have found it interesting that the vote to call a pastor is almost never unanimous. There are almost always 4-8 individuals that vote "no." And it doesn't seem to be proportional to the size of the congregation... There are always 4 to 8 no votes. Don't ask me to explain it but I don't think there is anything there that specifically reflects on you - Even the Timothy thing.
May God Bless you as you take on this new call.
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