Foothill Focus

Number 11 NOVEMBER 2009 Volume 17

COPS & GOBBLERS

What do police and turkeys have to do with Foothill Covenant Church? We hope alot on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 22nd. For over ten years, the police officers of Mountain View have been providing Thanksgiving food baskets to needy families in our area. It started with about 20 families in 1997 and has grown to over 200 families last year. This means more hands are needed to help.

Our Executive Committee decided that this would be a great way to carry through on our goal to be "God's agents of transformation in our community". We get to bring much needed food to hungry parents and children who are our neighbors.

You may have noticed above that this happens on a Sunday. Does that mean we'll call off church to minister in our neighborhoods as many churches in America are beginning to do on one or two Sundays a year? Yes & No! We won't cancel worship, but we'll push it back about half an hour to 11

a.m. and gather for a time of celebration and sharing after a time of ministry.

How can you participate? Come to the Mountain View Police headquarters on 1000 Villa St., M.V. at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning November 22nd. Help sort food, fill baskets, and then deliver them to families identified by the police, schools, and social workers in Mountain View.

Once you're finished delivering baskets to two or three homes, come to church and join with us to share our experiences, praise God for his goodness to us, and celebrate together.

As the Cops & Gobblers program puts it, "There are times when caring individuals step forward to make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes that means just making life a little bit easier for people. Because of this program, Thanksgiving can be celebrated by a number of people in the community who would not otherwise be able to enjoy this holiday"

Don't you think that God who has blessed us so richly agrees?

Update on the Transition Team

The Transition Team has begun meeting roughly every two weeks as we work through the churchprofile that will be provided to PSWC in conjunction with the FCC Pastoral Search Committee beingput in place.

There have been some in the congregation who have had lingering questions on how the TransitionTeam was formed so it would be good to provide some history on the process. With Jim's decision to retire, PSWC was contacted by Brian Smith, our church chair, who informed them of the decisionand to ask for guidance on how best to proceed with the process of transitioning to a new pastor.PSWC then put Alan Forsman in touch with us to act as a consultant and to provide instruction onhow PSWC handles the process. Alan then set up a meeting with Brian Smith and Mark Liedstrandas Executive Committee chair and vice-chair where he provided information on the transition teammodel.

To form the Transition Team, Alan asked Brian and Mark to identify individuals within the congregation who best exemplified the following

1. o Demonstrates evidence of ongoing spiritual growth
2. o Use of spiritual gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, and encouragement
3. o Communicates in a positive spirit
4. o Has the trust and respect of others in the congregation
5. o Believes in the church and is committed to its future

Aside from these characteristics, the Transition Team was to be made up of the widest possible mixof demographics found within our congregation. Once a list of candidates was identified by Markand Brian, it was presented to the FCC Executive Committee for approval after which the individualswere contacted and the team was put in place.

Now that the team has been meeting regularly, we have made good progress toward collecting information around our community and church demographics. However, some of the responses neededby PSWC are a reflection of the congregation's views, aspirations, and opinions. To gather this information, we will be providing a survey that will be conducted as part of the Sunday service on November 15th. If you are not going to be in attendance that particular Sunday, please contact any onthe Transition Team so we can work with you to collect your responses.

Once all the information requested by PSWC is collected, the Transition Team will present this tothe Executive Committee and the congregation as a whole so everyone can view the results and havea good understanding of what PSWC will be using as they help to identify pastoral candidates for thePastoral Search Committee to process.

For information on the Transition Team activities, we will be providing Focus articles, announcements at worship services and church events, and also with bulletin board material found outside the sanctuary. If you have any questions regarding the Transition Team, feel free to contact any of theteam members. A list of the team can be found on the bulletin board along with other information onthe Transition Team efforts. Mark Liedstrand, co-chair

. . . And the pastoral search process:

As the Transition Team has clarified its work, the pastoral search process has become

clearer. We will bid farewell to Pastor Gaderlund on Sunday, February 14th. We anticipatethe following Sunday we will be welcoming an interim pastor whowill serve an initial interim of two or three months. We expect thatby this time the Transition Team will be finished writing a congregational profile that will be given to the PSWC as they coordinate a pastoral search. About that time the Executive Committee will be presenting a process to the congregation for the appointment of a Pastoral Search Team which will review pastoral resumes, conduct interviews, and bring a candidate. Stay tuned for details.

CELEBRATE with Tamera & Hans Jagow the birth of their daughter, Liberty Lexine Jagow on October 27th. She was 7 lbs. 5 oz.. Pray for God's rich blessing on her young life!

Thank you from Esther Pipkin: "Thank you to the friends and relatives who came over and sent cards and flowers and plants and baked goods. I had a real nice birthday. My relatives came from all over and we had a real nice time."