DEACONS AND SESSION (ELDERS)

In addition to the staff, the two main groups that provide leadership to the church are the Deacons and the members of Session (Elders). They are elected by church members once a year.

Your Church at Work: The Session

Who are the Elders who serve on the Session? What do they do? How do they do it? SPC’s Session is currently composed of 11 individuals who meet monthly to discuss issues within the Church and the community and to make decisions about how the Church will function. Paul leads each meeting in partnership with Ralph Hooper, the Clerk of Session. The Session oversees a wide range of areas in the Church—finances, Church property, committee activities, etc. One project that Session is currently overseeing is the renovation of the foundation of the south wing (the nursery, Sunday School room, and offices), which has been deteriorating. This issue involves agreeing on the scope of work, weighing in on contractor bids, providing suggestions to the committee regarding managing costs and optimizing our investment while meeting the requirements set by the City of Sausalito, among others. Each month Session looks at the financial picture for the Church and discusses any gaps between our annual plan and actual income and expenses. Session also approves all formal activities hosted by the Church.

The Deacons

The Ministry of Deacon is set forth in Scripture as one of compassion, witness, and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress. Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this ministry.

May 2019, Leadership and Committee Chairs

July 18, 2018, Leadership, Committees, and Key Volunteers

Ordination and Installation of Deacons and Elders, 2018

A beautiful and meaningful ceremony. In the 4th photo, the small bottle on the lectern contains holy water from the River Jordan. It was used for the blessing.

Scroll down for previous ordination and installation photos

Here is Arundhati’s Deacons’ invitation from 2015:
“God is Calling You. Open your heart to unlimited joy. Join the SPC deacons who enjoy the bliss of selfless service to all God’s children facing challenges in life. The deacons also enjoy unconditional love and ongoing support from each other as we journey home together. The challenges of fellow travelers are matched with the deacons interest and unique expressions of Love, including (but not limited) to being a good listener, a driver, a cook, a prayer partner. Everybody wins as we row, row, row our boat merrily down the stream of life.
The only requirement is an open heart. You can come to church or even connect in cyberspace.”

The Deacons are the nurturing outreach arm of the church both for the congregation and for the community-at-large. They donate resources of money, time, and talent to support and encourage fellowship within the SPC family, and to raise funds for specific charities within the community. In addition to small and large projects that they undertake for the church on a regular basis, they’ve organized many fund-raising events, including cooking and serving pancake breakfasts, and running successful food booths at both the Sausalito Arts Festival in September and Jazz by the Bay in the summer months.

Session (Elders)

Session is the elected church board, and its members have the responsibility to set goals and strategy for the church, create the church’s annual budget and oversee church finances, oversee staff and their compensation, maintain our property and facilities, approve and/or set church policies, and many, many other tasks that arise during the church year. Elders are elected by church members once a year and serve 3-year terms. They meet once a month, usually the 4^th Tuesday of the month.

Our heartfelt thanks to those elders and deacons who have served the Church and this congregation faithfully. They work tirelessly to fulfill their mission to serve this congregation,

A variety of photos from ordinations