This morning I spent way more time than I ever expected transcribing the results of the election of deacons and elders held yesterday. I will soon begin the long and somewhat complicated process of contacting those who were elected by their peers in the church.
(The process gets complicated precisely because we are electing both deacons and elders at the same time. This means that some people may be nominated for both positions at the same time and (depending on whether all the positions have been filled yet) they may be able to have a choice whether they prefer to serve in one place or the other. So if, say, someone were to come off at the top of voting for elder and just a little lower on deacons, i might have to wait to see if there is still a need for deacons when i get to them on the list before I want to call them to ask them to serve as an elder because I want to be able to give them the choice between deacon and elder if they want. Never mind, it is actually too complicated to explain!)
Anyways, I just wanted to say, before I began contacting anyone, how much I do appreciate this process. I am amazed once again by the wisdom that has been shown by the people of the congregation and by the respect in which they hold their brothers and sisters in Christ. The best part of this is that I get to call up people in the congregation and tell them that they are loved and respected and that people have great confidence in their wisdom and ability to care for others. I wish I could tell everyone who’s name figures on the lists that because it really is amazing to see. Unfortunately not all will have to be contacted so I wanted to send out a general message now to everyone.
Scott