Nearly 500 years ago, the newly reformed churches in Scotland made an important decision about how their churches would be governed and led. Rather than giving power and control to priests and bishops, as in the Roman Catholic system, they would grant the authority to the people themselves. Each church would elect from among its members individuals who were considered to be spiritually mature, wise, and responsible. These leaders were called “elders.” The term comes from the New Testament, and the Scottish churches wanted to conform themselves to the biblical pattern. In Titus 1:5, the Apostle Paul directs a young pastor named Titus: “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might… appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” The word Paul used for elder in the Greek language was “presbyter”—thus the name of our form of church leadership.
Following this tradition and our Presbyterian Constitution, the ministry of First Church is overseen and guided by church members who are elected by the entire congregation. Our by-laws stipulate that we will have 18 elders, divided into three classes of six each. Both men and women are eligible to serve, and a term is ordinarily three years. At a typical annual meeting in December, the Nominating Committee proposes a slate of six new elders to be elected. They are then ordained and installed at a worship service in January. (In the Presbyterian tradition, a person is an ordained elder for life, beyond their term of actual service on the board.) In addition to the active elders, the governing body (called the Session) also includes the ordained and installed pastors (known officially as teaching elders or Ministers of Word and Sacrament). The Senior Pastor is the moderator of the Session, and each year a Clerk of Session is elected to oversee the keeping of accurate minutes and records.
The Session meets monthly (except for a summer recess) on the third Thursday. Committees that report directly to Session include several that focus on the direct ministries of the church (such as Missions, Christian Education, and Music & Worship), and others that provide the resources to carry out the ministries (Building & Grounds, Finance, and Human Resources). The Session also oversees the efforts of the Board of Deacons and meets with them once per year. Our Session is committed to delegating as much authority as possible to the committees to do their work rather than wasting board time in trying to micromanage.
Due to the unusual impact of the 2020 coronavirus emergency, the Session decided to propose a temporary by-laws amendment for 2021, authorizing all elders (and deacons) to serve one additional year on their terms. This was approved by the congregation in December and allows for continuity of leadership during a turbulent period for our church.
by Pastor Doug Pratt
