Well, not exactly. Love demands careful management of affairs, and in Union Church Berea, as in most others, that means boards. We have carefully, thoughtfully, and with much prayer, chosen to create subgroups of the congregation that seek to contribute to the work and service of the church from specific areas. We then, carefully and with more thought and prayer, ask people to participate in these boards, based on their acknowledged spiritual gifts. Each individual (you guessed it–carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully) determines whether to accept a board position.
Once in a while, most recently in the early 2000s, we rearrange and reconfigure those boards to be more effective and more responsive to the needs of the board members and of the congregation. It took hundreds of people and thousands of prayers to create our Mission Statement [link] and the purpose of each board is to help the church meet the goals and values outlined in that Statement, especially focused on their particular section of it.
Currently, we have ten boards, each of which requires a minimum of four members, with rolling three-year terms. Ideally only one-third of membership is replaced each year. Board members may agree to a second term. Our ten boards are:
- Faith Development: seeks to “boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of Jesus by thoughtfully developing the faith, knowledge, and spirit of persons of every age.”
- Nurture and Care: seeks to “stand with one another as bearers of Christ’s light in times of trial and rejoicing.”
- Community Life and Growth: seeks “unity in building a loving community amongst the gifts of differing traditions, opinions, and views.”
- Worship: seeks to “boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of Jesus with passionate worship that celebrates the transforming love of God.”
- Mission and Service: seeks to “boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of Jesus with risk-taking mission and service.”
- Church Finance: seeks to “boldly and creatively embody the life and ministry of Jesus with extravagant generosity and care in the stewardship of the gifts we have been given.”
- Properties: commits to “loving service and outreach with useful facilities and supported staff and programs, striving always to be agents of God’s inclusive love.”
- Administration: oversees “using our staff, our building, and our selves for servant leadership in our sphere of influence, and …commit[s] to the spiritual and educational support that will make [all] effective and joyful agents of God’s grace.”
- Nominating: This board meets only for a portion of each year, and in its task of choosing new people to invite to serve, seeks individuals who will strive to fulfill all these missions.
- Pastoral Relations: This special board acts to uphold and care for the pastor(s) in their own hospitality, faith development, worship, service and generosity.
Together with the officers and pastors, boards work to accomplish all of our mission priorities, bringing to the table different gifts for each.
Representatives of the boards with the officers and pastors make up the Church Council. The council meets monthly to oversee the program, health, and direction of the church and is empowered in certain ways to conduct business on behalf of the wider church. The Union Church Constitution helps guide our work.
2023 Officers of the Church
- Moderator: Steve Gowler
- Vice Moderator & Chair of Church Council: Kim Kobersmith
- Clerk: Linda Parsons
- Financial Secretary: Reda Hutton
- Treasurer: Greg Lakes
