ST. JOHN’S UCC INTERIM SENIOR PASTOR
ST. JOHN’S UCC is in the process of choosing a new Senior Pastor. During this time, Rev. Dale Davis has served as our interim Senior Pastor since September 19, 2022. He will be retiring at the end of May, 2024. After that, Rev. Addie Stong will serve as our Acting Senior Pastor, assisted by a temporary “Bridge Pastor” until our new Senior Pastor is selected.
May 19 will be Dale Davis’ last Sunday at St. Johns as he is retiring. A retirement celebration is being planned during our normal Social and we are looking for volunteers to help make this a festive occasion. Dale has been with us for over a year and a half as our Interim Pastor and has led us with wonderful messages and inspirations.
Please contact Debby Hendricks (267) 664-5490 or email dchendricks111@gmail.com
About the Interim Pastor (from the Herald May 29, 2022)
What is an interim pastor?
When a minister has served the same church for over 4 decades, finding someone to replace that person is hard work and takes time. Based on guidance and procedures provided by the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC), the search and hiring of an intentional Interim Pastor is a necessary first step in this important process.
An intentional interim pastor’s purpose is to provide continuity in worship, pastoral care, and program/staff oversight. This pastor will not be a candidate for the “settled” position as our pastor but will help to facilitate our transitional work in preparation for the settled pastor search. Currently we have two very good candidates that we are in the process of interviewing.
Why do we need an interim pastor?
Some people may question why not just hire a “settled” pastor, instead of an interim. The process for recruiting and hiring a Settled Pastor can take 18-24 months to find the right candidate. An Interim pastor provides a bridge to our new senior pastor and is intended to help us in many ways:
- To guide us through our feelings of loss as our beloved senior pastor retires
- To lead the congregation in a self-study and community learning process that will identify our church’s vision for the future and corresponding pastoral needs
- To give St John’s the time to do a thorough and careful search for our next senior pastor
- To give a break between the existing and new senior pastors to ensure the new senior pastor is not immediately compared to our current pastor, giving them a better chance to be truly welcomed and successful.