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Here are a few informational/announcement items regarding Grace Gathering:
1) Our service times change beginning this Sunday, Sept. 7. They will be as follows:
9:00 The Blend
10:25 Kidstuf
11:15 The Edge
2) Kidstuf resumes this Sunday. This is a family service geared toward elementary children and their parents. If you have elementary children, we hope you can come.
3) The third and most important announcement is written below from me on behalf of the elders.
The elders would like to make an announcement to the congregation that Sal Cavarretta has resigned his position of Family Ministries Pastor. While this is not an easy decision for him and his family, it is a decision he and his wife have been praying about for about a year. Sal’s vision and passion is to be an overseer/manager of a family ministry staff. This was the vision he had when he came seven years ago.
The direction at Grace, however, as it pertains to staff, has become more specialized. Instead of creating a large department of family ministry with several staff members and a director who oversees that department, Grace’s vision is to have a few specialized people who focus exclusively on their area of ministry. This would include primarily someone focused and gifted to work with children’s ministries and someone different who is gifted and passionate about working with teens.
Sal has been in dialogue with the elders and specifically Tim Smith (who oversees the staff) regarding these issues over the past year. Sal has been a personal friend of mine since seminary, and I too have been in discussion with him. Sal and the elders have strong relationships and are committed to this not changing regardless of employment. Sal plans to look for another full-time ministry position. In the meantime Sal may seek secular employment locally to give him more time as he begins the process of looking (sometimes finding the right ministry position takes a while). Please be in prayer as he and Giovana sense God’s leading in this regard. However long God has them here in the area, they have communicated that they love Grace Gathering and are committed to this church while they are still here. What a unique blessing for all of us.
Sal has offered to stay in his current role through September and transition his responsibilities during this time. Ideally, Tim Smith will fulfill the two roles of children and teen (probably both at part-time) during this month so that Sal can work with both people. Tim has started that process of filling these two roles, and we will communicate more on that later this month. Pray for those decisions as well.
We all love the Cavarretta’s and have appreciated their dedication to Christ and to his church. Many of us have been significantly impacted by them (I know I have). If you have any questions feel free to contact Sal or Giovana themselves or feel free to contact the elders. This is God’s church, and while we may not understand why everything happens the way it does, we have confidence that He is in charge and we can trust him. May God direct all of us as we follow his will.