Dear Members of St. John,

The Congregation Council has received from the Call Committee their recommendation of a candidate to be called as Senior Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church.  This letter provides official notice that the congregation shall meet in a Special Congregational Meeting on Sunday, July 17 between worship services.  The meeting shall begin at 9:00 a.m. and shall address the following issues:

1. Extend a Call to Pastor Nathan Keith to become the next Senior Pastor of St. John.
2. Adopt the presented compensation package, adjusting the 2011 budget accordingly.

The following constitutional dynamics apply to the votes:

• C10.04: Fifty voting members shall constitute a quorum for a congregational meeting
• C10.05: Voting by proxy or by absentee ballot shall not be permitted
• C9.01  : A pastoral call requires a 2/3 majority vote of those present at the Congregational Meeting
• C10.06.11 (bylaw): Voting to call a pastor shall be by written ballot unless there is unanimous consent to do otherwise.

The following is provided by the Call Committee about Pastor Nathan Keith: 

The Call Committee is pleased to present Pastor Nathan Keith as our selection for the Senior Pastor position at St. John.  He is an impressive pastor who comes highly recommended by Bishop Narum, and now, by the Call Committee.  Pastor Nate is currently a resident of Bismarck, where he is serving in his seventh year as the Pastor of Youth, Family and Outreach for TrinityLutheranChurch and as a chaplain for the Bismarck Police Department.  He is a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree and North DakotaStateUniversity with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development and Family Relationships.  Nathan and his wife, Jill, are the parents of three young children.  Jill is a dietician with a graduate degree in education and is presently employed with UnitedTribesTechnicalCollege.  As representatives of you--our congregation--we feel confident that Pastor Nate would be a fine fit for St. John and we are hopeful as we enter the next stage of the call process.

Please join us in this important congregational meeting: Sunday, July 17 at 9:00 a.m.

Marcy Decker, St. John Council President

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Transition Team Formed

“We are always saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’,” Pastor Pete once said, as he summed up life’s many transitions. At St. John, we are in transition. A congregation facing the time between the end of one pastorate and the beginning of another is entering strange territory. This transition time between installed pastors is know in churches as the interim time. A Transition Team has been formed to help guide the congregation, council and staff on this “journey.”

Members include: Gayle Homiston, Marcy Decker,
Brent Seaks, Tim Thiel and Faith Simonieg (staff).