Committee on Ministry Support

I want to introduce Sarah Schmidt-Lee as the new secretary for the Committee on Ministry and Pastoral Transition Coordinator.  In this week of Thanksgiving, I want to express my gratitude to Kurt Kremlick, Jr. for his many years of service as COM secretary.  Kurt's experience and wisdom has been much appreciated and has been a gift to the COM, to this Presbytery and its congregations. The COM meeting Tuesday, November 25 is the last meeting for which he will be responsible for keeping the track of things.  He will continue through February providing orientation, training and support for Sarah as she learns the nuances of the role.  Kurt will then continue as an adviser to the COM team, which reviews it's documents through June, 2015.   Thank you, Kurt!

New to this position is the coordination of pastoral transitions.  The COM appoints a transition counselor to each congregation, which is between installed pastors.  There are many steps and documents to track and file during this process.  Sarah will join me in coaching and supporting the work of these transition counselors, Sessions, and PNCs, doing Congregational Leadership Connection matching, and reviewing candidate background check reports.  I will continue to do executive reference checks of candidates and supervise her work.

Sarah is the daughter of PC(USA) mission partners and lived with them in Japan where they served for 10 years.  She is a graduate of Regent College in Vancouver, British Colombia-an international, interdenominational evangelical seminary, served as pastor of the Westernville Presbyterian Church in Utica Presbytery in upstate New York for seven years prior to moving to Kalamazoo with her husband Barrett Lee.  Barrett is the pastor of the North Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo.  They have two young children.  In Utica Presbytery, she served on the Committee for Preparation of Ministry for 6 years and the Committee for the Equipping and Empowerment of Congregations which she chaired for 5 years.  Also, noteworthy, she followed a 38 year pastorate at the Westernville Church!  She presently serves as Presbytery's recording clerk, on the Administrative Commission for the First Presbyterian Church in Albion, and is on the Presbytery's Pulpit Supply List.  Welcome, Sarah!