I began my Interim Ministry here at Calvary Lutheran Church
on November 1, 2018. Within my forty-one years of ministry,
I have served as an interim minister in S.E. Minnesota and
S.W. Minnesota Synods since 2001. During those seventeen
years I have served in fourteen parish settings
representing eighteen congregations. Each of these
congregations like Calvary, is unique in their own setting,
yet they have one common denominator. This common identity
is the work of the Holy Spirit during the interim
transition time. Together with the synod office, Calvary
will work through your studies and prepare your mission
statement of intent. Our focus will be assisting our
members to discern our mission and to consider new
partnerships who will share with us a pastorate to carry
out this mission. The task of the interim period will be to
discover new ways in which proclaim the good news of our
Lord Jesus Christ in our community of faith. We can begin
this new discovery by asking questions that will reflect on
our history, our present status and our hope for our
future. We can ask: 1. “Who are we”? 2. “What is our
mission”? 3. “How are we going to accomplish this mission?
What are our resources?” A colleague likes to ask his
congregations, “What is God up to in our congregation?” So
my friends, what is God up to here at Calvary and in the
Rapidan community?
This past summer, the S.E. Mn. Synod introduced a new
program called “Hope in Christ”. Our council has accepted
this program as a tool for our study. Like the above
questions, the Hope in Christ question is, “Where is God
leading us in the next chapters of our ministry together?”
This is the theme and foundation of our Guide Team studies.
In our study there is a “Vision Questionnaire. As members
of Calvary you are invited to share your thoughts with the
Guide Team. You will find on our website: our monthly
newsletters, our monthly council minutes and our Guide Team
minutes. These will be our primary means of communication
with you as we walk through our transition time. If you
have any questions or comments, please contact one of our
council members or our guide team members.
May God bless us during our interim time together and may
his Holy Spirit guide us in our studies of preparation.
Gerry Giese
Interim Pastor
,
“What is God up to in our congregation