Extraordinary General Meeting Monday June 28th at 7.30 pm

I would like to invite as many of you as possible to come to this very important meeting. Its purpose will be to elect a new churchwarden.

As you will know, we were unable to do this at the Annual General Meeting in April because no-one was willing to be nominated. A number of people were approached. Since then, we have continued to ask you to pray, and have produced a sheet answering some Frequently Asked Questions about church warden. So far all this has been to no avail.

I regard this situation very seriously which needs to be resolved very soon. Ann Somers has had to continue in post but quite rightly will step down at the end of June.

It is also part of a wider issue of involving people and finding ways for them to use their gifts and to serve the Lord. We are always looking for people to take on new roles for themselves especially at the moment in children's work, world mission, governing body at St Luke's Halsall and pastoral care.

Whilst we have a lot of people committed to different aspects of church, there are also some who could play more of a part. On the other hand, some people have been fulfilling a particular role for a number of years and might be unintentionally preventing others from using their gifts.

I would therefore like everyone to spend some time on Friday June 18th specifically to pray about this matter. If you can fast on that day, please do so. If for any reason it is not possible to do so next Friday then please set another time aside. If you would like to do this as a cell group or get together with others, please do so.

If you have been churchwarden before, I would like you to think about whether you could do it again. If you have been asked about being a churchwarden at any time in the past and have said 'no', I would like you to think about it again. If you have decided that you have got too much on your plate with what you are already doing in church, I would like you to think about whether you need to be giving some of it up in order to become churchwarden. You might also be allowing other people to pick up what you have 'let go'.

If you have immediately dismissed the idea of being churchwarden because you think you couldn't do it or you don't know enough about the role or you would never be elected, I would like you to think about it. If you have thought God would call someone else, I would like you to consider whether God is calling you. As you can see, this should cover everyone in the congregation!

Being a churchwarden is a great privilege and responsibility. No-one should feel adequate for the task. Indeed that is the experience of those who have served in this capacity before at St Luke's. Remember that when God calls us, he always equips us.

Nomination papers for churchwarden are available at the back of church. If as a result of reading this or when you have prayed (and fasted), you would like to be nominated or would like to nominate someone else (discuss with them first!), please use this form and hand it to me.

So I am calling this EGM in faith that by the time of the meeting we will have at least one nomination for the post of churchwarden. It is inconceivable to me that God is not calling anyone to this and therefore it's up to all of us to discern who it is!

If in the meantime you would like to discuss the contents of this letter with me, you would be welcome to do so.

Thank you.

Pete

this page was last modified on 8 January 2011