November 9, 2004
Dear Ministers Council members,
As most of you are aware, members are being invited to join together to take part in what is called "The Jerusalem Council Process" based on Acts 15, a time of prayer, listening to scripture, and sharing of personal testimonies. We are asking you to gather together so that your two Senators, Jimmy Reader and myself, might discern how we are to vote on a proposed amendment to the bylaws that came before the Senate this summer regarding homosexuality and what defines a Senator in good standing. A mailing was sent to all members in early October with a copy of the proposed amendment, along with the guidelines for the Jerusalem Council Process. If you need to refer to this information again, it can be found on the Ministers Council website, www.ministerscouncil.com.
We finally have a time, date and place for our facilitation gathering to occur. We will be meeting at the First Baptist Church –Syracuse, Jamesville, NY, on December 1, beginning with refreshments at 8:30. (Directions are on the reverse side of this letter.) Our spiritual companion who has been trained to lead us through the process is Bob Santilli. Bob has been an American Baptist pastor since his ordination in 1965. After serving congregations in Brooklyn and Queens, he served the First Baptist Church of Mt. Holly, NJ as senior pastor from 1975-2002. Since taking an "early retirement" in 2002 he has been working as a full-time volunteer on the staff of International Ministries, ABC as "Special Assistant to the Executive Director for Prayer and Pastoral Care." In addition he is also serving as interim pastor of Hatboro Baptist Church in Pennsylvania. Bob is actively involved in the Pastors Prayer Summit and helps facilitate four-day prayer retreats for pastors and spouses across the nation. Bob is a widower with two children and five grandchildren who live near his home in Haddonfield, NJ.
A deli-style lunch will be provided; donations for lunch will be collected at the time of the meal. Please let us know whether or not you will attend by using the enclosed postcard or by E-mailing me at ebcfried@crisny.org; we need an accurate count for lunch and Bob would like an idea of how many people will be attending.
We do hope you will make every effort to attend this important time together. We want to hear from as many of our members as possible. As always, if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Peace,
Susan