As shared with the congregation in the February 22 e-news, a specially-called meeting was held on March 4 for the purpose of supporting next steps for our wonderful Children’s Ministry. All members were present and joined by guests Kathy Wise, Sandy Thomas and Bob Callander.
We began the meeting with scripture from Matthew 19:14, where Jesus recognized the importance of children to his ministry. This meditation guided the board as they discussed and took action on several exciting transitions in the life of our Children’s Ministry here at Beargrass. While these three transitions were not intentionally planned to happen together, their timing gives us a meaningful opportunity to reflect, appreciate, and
celebrate the impact they’ve had on our Children’s Ministry.
After 45 years of operating the Parent’s Day Out (PDO) program at Beargrass, Kathy Wise has earned a well-deserved retirement from that program and will be celebrated by the congregation. Consistent with her recommendation and following the board exploring a PDO task force, it was unanimously agreed to close this program in May 2025, with the prospect that reinvention of the program could be possible in the future.
Another celebration will be in order to recognize the service of Meg Blackwell (Kathy’s daughter), who will be retiring following the Children’s Musical on May 18. After serving in this special role for over two (2) decades, Meg has been planning to retire for some time as she and her husband Mike wish to spend time traveling and visiting with their children in four different states. The board affirmed and accepted her decision with much gratitude for her service.
And finally, we received wonderful news that our beloved Rev. Steven Straub has been blessed with an exciting opportunity to serve as a Senior Minister at Carrollton Christian Church in Carrollton, Kentucky beginning April 1. Steven will also join the regional staff for the Kentucky Disciples, where he will lead the camping program and continue to be active at Camp Wakon’Da-Ho each summer. The board unanimously celebrated this exciting chapter for Steven and accepted his resignation from leading handbells and our scouting program, the leadership of which will be addressed in the near future. We continue to affirm and support Steven in his ministerial calling and rejoice with the fact that he will not be too far away from Beargrass.
You can click here to read in full Steven’s letter to the congregation.
As we step into a new season for the Children’s Ministry program, the board has finalized the search committee, which will lead the efforts in the coming weeks to assist with the hiring of our next Children’s Ministry leader.
We are grateful that the following church members agreed to serve in this important role:
- Brian Bennett (Children’s Dream Team, Deacon, and current parent)
- Sarah Dotsey (Children’s Ministry Team Chair, Children’s Dream Team, and current parent)
- Elaine Farris (Deacon and Worship & Wonder volunteer)
- Trey Flowers (Senior Minister and current parent)
- Jim Jackson (Personnel Committee Chair, past Board Chair, and Elder)
- Maureen Johnson (Executive Board at-large member, Children’s Dream Team, Deacon and current parent)
- Katy Lyvers (Deacon, Children’s Dream Team, and current parent)
- Deb Rakestraw (past Board Chair, Children’s Dream Team, Elder, and former Children’s Minister)
- Mills Sublett (Deacon and current parent)
- Sandy Thomas (past Board Chair, Elder, and Children’s Ministry volunteer)
- Leigh Turner (Mission Board Chair, Executive Board member, Deacon, Children’s Dream Team, and current parent)
The board discussed strategies for multiple job posting outlets (including the Disciples Search & Call system) and various options for both half-time and full-time job descriptions (including potential expansion to also support families or small groups) so that we can create the ideal role at Beargrass. The recent work of the Children’s Dream Team has been and will continue to be utilized in this process. This will also help ensure we are attracting the best leader with the right fit to continue growing our Children’s Ministry in the years ahead.
We have been so blessed at Beargrass to have witnessed the time, treasure and talents of Kathy, Meg and Steven over recent decades. Their dedication has left a lasting impact on our church family, shaping the lives of so many and contributing to the vitality of our congregation.
As mentioned, we began the meeting with Matthew 19:14. Beargrass will continue to answer the call of scripture and our Vision Statement to recognize the importance of children and family ministry.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to any board member with any questions.
– Executive Board