Dear Damascus Community Church Family –
Greetings on behalf of the DCC Elder Council. We trust you are experiencing the companionship of Jesus Christ even as we, His body, are temporarily separated from one another during this time. We know that you are all with us in longing to be united once again to worship, serve and fellowship together. Please know that the elders and staff are working hard to determine when and how that might happen once the shelter-in-place restrictions are lifted. We appreciate your prayers for God’s wisdom as we plan.
In the meantime, the ministry of DCC continues. In addition to the work you are doing to reach out and care for those in your circles of influence, Sunday worship services have moved online, many groups continue to meet digitally, ministry leaders and staff are planning and coordinating for future ministry (including developing a budget for next fiscal year), and we continue to advance forward in our leadership transition plan that was adopted by the Elder Council and communicated to the church family in 2018.
The 3-year transition plan prepares for two significant changes in DCC’s leadership. The first involves the July 2021 retirement of Steve Hardy as Senior Pastor and the installation of Andy McClellan as his successor. We are quickly approaching the beginning of the 3rd year of this transition and continue on schedule in adjusting Steve and Andy’s roles in accordance with the plan.
The second significant change involves the upcoming retirement of members of the Elder Council, and the need for newly-appointed elders to fill their roles. Since this plan was initiated, two new elders have been appointed (Greg Foley & Chris Strong), and other potential elders are in various stages of leadership development. We are thankful to the Lord for raising up new leaders to shepherd His flock.
At the same time, however, we have recognized the contribution, experience, and wisdom of those who have served on the Council faithfully for many years. Their involvement on the Council gives them unique awareness of current Council issues, and we believe their continued input and insight would greatly benefit its younger leaders. For that reason, through much prayer and research, the Elder Council is unanimous in recommending that Article VI of the DCC Constitution be amended to add the office of “Elder Emeritus.”
This amendment proposal for your review is available at this LINK. Our constitution requires notification to the congregation, followed by a period of 4-weeks for you to ask questions, make comments, and offer input. We would love to hear your thoughts, so please contact us.
You can email to elders@damascuscc.org or call the church office at 503.658.3179 (after-hours: 503.489.7297).
Finally, it is our desire to continue to improve in communicating with you. During this current COVID-19 emergency, much of that communication has moved here, to our website, or through the DCC Newsletter (subscribe HERE). If you are unable to consistently access these resources, please let us know. We want to make sure we are connecting with all of you to the best of our ability. Thank you!
By His Grace,
Pastor Andy
(for the DCC Elder Council)