15 October 2007 - Your Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) continues to work hard – and pray hard – as we move through the process that will lead to the calling of a pastor to Leesburg Presbyterian Church.

We have reviewed more than 130 Pastor Information Forms.  Some of those were submitted directly to us by candidates who are interested in being considered for this position.  Others were referred to us by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which maintains a database of pastors across the country who are open to a new call.

We have requested more information from those candidates who appear to be the best match for this church.  We are currently reviewing these materials and listening to sermons that have been submitted in just about every medium imaginable – audio cassettes, CDs, videotapes and DVDs, as well as printed sermons.  We will soon begin scheduling telephone interviews with the top candidates.

We are giving this a lot of thought and prayer.  As Presbyterians, we are taught that God has already selected the person He wants to come lead our church.  Our primary task as a PNC is to discern who that is, and to clear the way for that person to accept our call.

The members of the PNC are Jim Barnes, Diana Bennett, Kathy Brown, Jon Gayek, Laura Herring, Laura Jackson, Betty Lowenbach, Scott Smith and Bill Wingardner.  We thank you for your support, and ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers.

18 September 2007 - The Pastor Nominating Committee is pleased to tell the congregation that we have received over 120 “Pastor Information Forms” in response to our Church Information Form on the PCUSA website.  Our screening process is working well and while we continue to refine the system we are enjoying reading the letters and applications that are still arriving via mail and email.  Now we are sending out our letters of request for sample sermons, videotapes and audiotapes to individuals who have met our criteria.  This is a very exciting and challenging part of the pastor selection process and we ask for your patience, continued prayers and support of our hard working team.

19 August 2007 - Good news from the Pastor Nominating Committee!

The Church Information Form, or CIF, is an informational form churches complete and submit to the Church Leadership Connection or CLC, in Louisville.   The CLC provides a matching service for churches and church professionals.  Our CIF is the first impression pastoral candidates will have of LPC.

This past Thursday, we on the PNC met and completed our last review of the CIF.  Every word, and indeed, because we were limited to 1500 characters per question, every space of the form was thoughtfully and prayerfully considered.  Now, the Session and the Committee on Ministry must read and approve it.  By the end of this month, the CIF should be entered online with the CLC, where it can be viewed by prospective pastors or anyone with Internet access.  Then, the process of reviewing Personal Information Forms (PIF), the pastor counterpart to the CIF, begins.

The importance of the CIF cannot be overstated. It is the means by which we will evaluate any PIFs we receive.  It is also the way our new pastor will be able to understand our expectations and the ministry of Leesburg Presbyterian Church.   It could not have been completed without your help.  Thank you for your participation in the survey, your comments and suggestions, and for your continued prayers as we enter this next stage of calling our pastor.   

27 May 2007 - Fellow LPC family:  The members of the PNC take our selection to this committee as a sacred trust. We represent the congregation and work for you directly. We are moving steadily toward the development of an outstanding Church Information Form – no small task due to its importance in the Pastoral call process. The CIF is the first look at LPC and its congregation for most pastors. It’s a very restrictive form with descriptive sections limited to exactly 1500 characters.

The Mission Study we received from the Session gave us some good insight to who we are as a church. To get a better feel for what each of you would like to see in our new minister, we have sent out a questionnaire – easy to read, easy to fill out (spend some time though on it) and easy to return.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help us do our task. The more input we get, the more accurate our Church Information Form can be. This is your Church and your input counts.

15 April 2007 - The Pastor Nomination Committee (PNC) has been hard at work over the past few months. The entire committee, along with Diane Hutchins and Pat Nobles (the representative from the presbytery), have spent time discussing all the details that go into picking a new pastor for the church.   On April 11th the PBC elected the following officers:

On April 16, the Session will approve a mission statement and the PNC will begin to write the Church Information Form (CIF).  This is the first key piece in the selection process.  The PNC asks for your prayers and patience in the coming months.  The PNC knows how important its duties are and wants to make sure that they do the very best job possible.  You will be getting an update from the committee on the third Sunday of every month and in the monthly newsletter.

12 January 2007 - The LPC Nominating Committee has nominated Jim Barnes, Diana Bennett, Jon Gayek, Laura Jackson, Betty Lowenbach, and Scott Smith to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee.  These names will be placed into nomination at the Annual Meeting of the Congregation next Sunday, January 21st.  The Session has already elected Kathy Brown and Bill Wingardner to represent them, and the Deacons have elected Laura Herring.  If you would like to information to share with this committee, please contact them at pnc@lpcva.org. 

03 December 2006 - The Committee on Ministry of the National Capital Presbytery has given us permission to elect a Pastor Nominating Committee to formally begin our search for a new pastor.  Our Session has agreed to have a committee of nine.  There will be two representatives from the Session, one from the Deacons, and six from the congregation at large.  The church's 2006 nominating committee has been charged to prepare a slate of six candidates from the congregation to be elected at our annual meeting scheduled for January 21, 2007.

Leesburg Presbyterian Church
207 W. Market Street;  Leesburg, VA  20176
office 703-777-4163 | fax 703-777-4666

office@lpcva.org | www.lpcva.org