Webster Word

A Note to Members of Webster Church

On Wednesday May 30th I will attend the monthly Church and Ministry meeting of the Chesapeake Association of Churches of  the UCC.  During this meeting the Committee will have the opportunity to meet and interview the new Intermin Associate Conference Minister, Rev. Patricia Barth.  This will be the person who will be filling the position previously held by Rev. Jim Bell.  As you may or may not know there was a great deal of pain and sadness with the way Rev. Bell was terminated from his position, and there was some concern if his position would be filled or done away with completely.  Apparently with the appointment of Rev. Barth we can assume that we will have a Associate Conference Minister.  Rev. Barth will be coming into this position with a great deal of hard work ahead of her.  The number one issue right now is to rebuild the faith and trust between the Churches and the Association.  Since Rev. Bell has left there has been litlle or no contact between the churches and the Association.  I can tell you that this has not been because the churches of the association have not tried.  We all have been asking for leadership and direction from the association but none has been forcoming.

As your representative on the Church and Ministry Committee, I look forward to reopening a dialog with the conference and in particular with Rev. Barth!  I hope the healing can begin and I look forward to inviting Rev. Barth to visit our wonderful church.  I know that with God's help and all concerned approaching the issues with open hearts and open minds we can get through this.  After the meeting I will make sure everyone knows the outcome of this meeting.

Gary Lyttle