As Lutherans, we believe that the Lord calls people into ministry. Full time church workers who are trained at a Synodical educational institution are eligible to received Divine Calls through a congregation.
This Sunday, St. Matthew Lutheran Church will hold a Congregational Voter's Meeting for the purpose of seeking the Lord's will regarding to who He wants to serve as our new 6th grade teacher and Athletic Director. Our current 6th grade teacher/Athletic Director, Mr. Matthew Olsen, will be retiring from teaching at the end of this school year and seeking new avenues of how the Lord can use him to further His kingdom. We thank and praise God for Mr. Olsen's ministry at St. Matthew, and hewill be dearly missed. However, just as we know that the Lord has great plans for Mr. Olsen, we are just as confident that the Lord has great plans for St. Matthew and will send the best candidate to serve as our new teacher.
This Sunday, at 12:30 p.m., members of St. Matthew Lutheran Congregation will gather in the church and listen to a presentation of information that our Call Committee has gathered for two qualified candidates that they have located for this position.
The purpose of the Call Committee is to only present qualified candidates to the congregation. They will not give any recommendations regarding to either candidate. After hearing all of the Call Committee's in formation, the congregational members in attendance will pray, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, and then vote. When one candidate has received 2/3 of the totalvote, the entire body of members assembled will officially vote to extend a Divine Call to that particular candidate.
Once the candidate receives the Official Call to serve as our 6th grade teacher, he will then be asked to pray and discern if St. Matthew is where the Lord wants him to serve. Hopefully, the Lord will make this clear to the candidate within a few weeks.
Following our Congregational Constitutional Bylaws, eligible voters must be members of St. Matthew Lutheran congregation and over the age of 18. However, as I discussed with all of our students who are not old enough to vote, if you do not meet this criteria, your prayers are still appreciated regarding this process, asking that the Lord's voice is clearly heard during this meeting.
Through this entire process, it is our heart to handle this process in the most Godly manner so that His will may be done.
We look forward to watching the Holy Spirit at work this Sunday!
In Jesus' love,
Mrs. Palka