We are blessed to have Steve and Janet Savia with us at CTR, and it looks like they will remain with us for the foreseeable future! For the last few weeks, Steve and I have been discussing and further defining what his pastoral role at CTR should be, and how we can best utilize his many gifts. Steve will continue to preach and teach and preside when I am away, but he will be doing more than that!
I am pleased to let you know that Steve’s official position at CTR is something we are calling Pastor of Administration and Pastoral Care. Steve has already been providing ongoing pastoral care to several CTR families, and he will continue to assist me in meeting new needs as they arise. Along with that, Steve will help provide administrative support. He is currently working on the (not thrilling but) necessary work of cleaning up our Corporate and banking information, filings, and status — something that has been woefully neglected over the years. He will assume primary responsibility for updating MemberHub and maintaining the CTR website. Steve has already been participating in TLT as part of our Pastoral staff, and he has been involved in the Visibility Team as well. I am certain that Steve will become involved in more areas as his ministry develops further.
I welcome Steve’s newly defined position and role at CTR. CTR is not a large congregation, yet given that, no one person can do it all, and there are some things I simply am not good at doing…. Steve’s greater responsibility and role is to the benefit of him, me, and CTR as a whole!
Many of you are aware that Steve and I have been meeting on a near-weekly basis following the Wednesday men’s study. These meetings continue. Initially, our meetings were established as a mentoring relationship. As Steve has become Deacon and has grown in his ministry at CTR, more and more our meetings have taken on the character as that of colleagues and partners working together on the same staff. Speaking personally, serving as the sole pastor of a smaller congregation is often a lonely position. I have been grateful for Steve’s input, advice, and camaraderie.
What all this means, I think, is now there are two. Thanks be to God, we are now a team and two! Now if we can just get Steve ordained priest soon…
See you Sunday!
