Many thanks to everyone that came together for last night’s Q&A Session with our Pastor, Rev. Sterling Severns. We encourage you to continue to bring questions to Sterling or any of our committee members. please continue to pray for those leading the search process. The TCCC Administrative and Ministry Committees will be in touch soon about upcoming listening sessions for parents and teachers. We need your thoughts about how to best describe the center to potential candidates and your thoughts about qualifications/characteristics we are looking for in a new director.
We are indebted to Frances for her continued leadership and to all of the parents for your continued trust.
****Scroll to bottom of this post to listen to podcast. It should be available via iTunes in next 24 hours or so. Please feel free to share.
Q&A OVERVIEW:
Dear Parents:
I hope and trust this message finds you well. I’m writing today to invite you to a special Q&A Session next Tuesday, June 20, at 5:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. I’m eager to sit down and meet with you to offer reassurance, field questions, and share some insight on next steps as we begin to think about the next chapter together. Tabernacle Baptist Church, and innumerable families in our community, have benefited tremendously by the gifts and guidance of Frances Thrift. She has cared for, and ministered alongside us, for the better part of a quarter of a century. Words cannot begin to express our gratitude for her faithful ministry. We celebrate with her as she casts her eyes towards a well deserved retirement and will cherish these last six months with her. While Frances isn’t leaving until the end of the calendar year, we know that we need to get busy thinking about next steps. Frances, and the TCCC Ministry and Administrative Committees will soon begin looking for an interim Assistant Director. It is our working plan for the new Director to work with all of us in creating a job description, and then seeking out, a permanent Assistant Director.
I hope you will make plans to join me next week as we begin some meaningful conversation together.
Here is a preview of what to expect:
1) Transparency -I’m eager to give you a brief snapshot on where we’ve been and let you know what the beginning of our search process looks like. I know that there is a lot of anxiety surfacing. I look forward to answering your questions and hopefully putting you at ease with transparent responses.
2) Reassurance – I want to offer you assurance that we have no intention of making significant changes to our Child Care Center Ministry anytime in the foreseeable future. We have offered nurture, community, and care for generations of children through this ministry area and it is our intention to reaffirm our commitment. Consistency will be critical and we are asking for your continued trust as we walk through this process together.
3) Gratitude – We are all indebted to the leadership, educators, and volunteers that make this ministry possible. That said, we are equally grateful for the gift of your family’s presence in our center. You, and your children, are cherished and we are beyond grateful for your trust.
4) Request for help – Lastly, I will spend a brief amount of time next Tuesday asking for you help as we begin the difficult task of creating a job description for our new Director. The last time we did this was 25+ years ago. We need your help and we are eager to sit down and listen to teachers and parents. We won’t dedicate time at this particular meeting to do this as it is too important to rush. However, I hope to give you an idea of what we need you thinking about. We’ll share future dates for listening sessions in the next couple of weeks.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Yours in Christ,
Grace and Peace,
Sterling W. Severns
Pastor
Tabernacle Baptist Church
804.355.0134
1925 Grove Ave.
Richmond, Va. 23220
