Introduction
The Board met on Thursday 27th January in the church and all members were pleased to attend, despite the general state caused by the pandemic in society. The meeting began with a theological reflection by Pastor Claes-Göran Ydrefors, based on the ecumenical prayer week’s theme of the astrologers, drawing parallels with the woman who met Jesus at the well in the town of Sychar. The astrologers and the woman all chose to take a “different way home” after the meeting with Jesus and their story could be seen as an invitation for the board to dare look in new directions.
The situation in the congregation
The chairman gave a summary of the meeting that was held with the International council. The meeting was characterized by openness and a nice dialogue. And even though there are huge needs for continued conversations, everyone felt that the conditions were in place for achieving these. In the winter and summer new meetings will be held. Even if the goal is to find a good solution for the International fellowship, there is no set roadmap on how to get there; it will take the time needed to achieve the best result and it is of utmost importance that everyone helps in this endeavor.
Recruitment
As reported earlier, there are several and very important coming recruitments, among others, the recruitment of a pastors. The process to resolve these issues, most importantly the recruitment of a new Senior Pastor and the search for an interim solution for the International Fellowship, will begin as soon as possible.
Ministry Plan
A new draft for ministry plan was presented by the group that produced the draft. The goal is to be able to present it at the Annual Meeting in May 2022.
New role: Head of Office
As a reinforcement to the staff, the role of Head of Office has been established. Marianne Eriksson, Head of Administration, has accepted the expanded role. The Head of Office is responsible for, among others, the non-ordained staff and reports to the Board.
Delegation of mandate
The Board decided on the revised delegation procedure. The delegation procedure is a delegation of a mandate regarding which decisions the Senior Pastor and / or Head of Office can make.
Loan to Estonia
In the spring of 2021, the board was asked whether the church could lend funds for the construction of a nursing home in Estonia run by a local congregation. It was decided that such an undertaking requires a decision of the congregational meeting, and therefore this has been referred to the coming congregational meeting.
Congregational meetings
Please note the dates of the forthcoming congregational meetings
20 February from 12:30 – 13:30 and 27 March 2022 at 13:00 after the joint service.