Dear Friends-

At a called meeting of the Executive Committee on Monday, October 3rd, the Personnel Committee (which is a sub-committee of Executive Committee) made a final recommendation regarding a transition plan as we prepare for Sheldon’s retirement as our General Minister.  After meeting with the current staff members, consulting with our Synod Executive, and reaching out to two other large Presbyteries that had gone through recent transitions, the Personnel Committee recommended and Executive Committee approved the following items: 

1. The assignment of the role of Acting Head of Staff to Rev. Brian Wallace, effective January 1, 2023, until a new General Minister begins work.  
2. A job description and salary range for an up to full-time Temporary Associate. 

The search process for the new Temporary Associate has begun, and you can find the job posting here.  This individual will focus on COM-related tasks around congregational support and transition and will serve for the duration of the transition period until a new General Minister is in place.  

The Executive Committee examined two options for covering Sheldon’s responsibilities starting in January: Hiring an Interim General Minister or appointing an Acting Head of Staff.  After considering several factors, including the learning curve for an Interim from the outside,  the time needed to conduct two searches,  the candidate pool for a suitable Interim, the current state of the Presbytery, the input of the staff, and the Presbytery’s previous experience with transitional leadership, the Personnel Committee recommended naming Brian as Acting Head of Staff as the best path forward.  In conversation with Personnel, Brian has made it clear that he will not be a candidate for the permanent position.  

The Executive Committee is committed to working with full transparency through the transition process.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact either Rev. Scott Hill (scottdh1999@gmail.com) or Rev. Cathie Smith (pastorcathie.bethelpc@gmail.com), who serve as the Co-Chairs of the Personnel Committee.