February Session Report

February 13th marked our very first official session and diaconate meeting. We wanted to give you some insight into the things we talked about and will try to do regular reports like this for the church.

The very first thing we do together is that we pray through a short vespers service together, and then pray through part of our member list. Every time we gather we are praying for the people who call Saint Andrew’s home. From there we moved on to some buisness (approving financial procedures, looking into potential denominational funding for building renovations, purchasing round tables for the fellowship hall).

After working quickly through some business we interviewed Michael Morgan who was asking to have us baptise their son via the mode of immersion. After considering the biblical, historical, and westminster arguments for this the session deliberated and decided to make immersion an allowable practice at Saint Andrews. We will write more about this at a later time explaining in detail what this means for us.

Next our order of business was our shepherding plan. I have mentioned before that we have a shepherding plan where members will be divided up among the elders for regular check ins, prayer, and care. The task before us Tuesday evening was to divide the members up into those shepherding groups. You will hear more by the end of the month on what to expect from those groups, but we are excited for this part of the work of the elders.

We then talked through the role of the deacon and the various ways the session will need to come alongside Peter since he is the only deacon we have. This will be an ongoing discussion that will involve research and study as we begin the work of developing and establishing this important work in the church.

Lastly we talked through discipleship and outreach in the church. David brought men’s and women’s ministry charters to the session for approval, which will help guide those ministries as they continue to grow and flourish. We also are looking at what it might look like to bring someone on board to help our church grow in missions and outreach.

We closed in prayer. It was a great first meeting! All done in under 3 hours… continue to pray for the work of your session. It is a privilege to serve this body in this way.

Pastor Craig