Nominating Team
By April Morito
Elders: Andy Chen, April Morito
Members: Mary Aso, Russell Gesling, Maya Tatsuno, Pastor Steve Yamaguchi, and Pastor Hector Herrera
Bible Verses
Matthew 20: 25 – 28
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the ruler of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1 Timothy 3: 2
Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. Not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.
Titus 1:6-8
An Elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless – not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable. One who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy messages as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
The Nominating Team
We give thanks to the Lord for His gracious guidance and wisdom. We have strongly felt the Lord’s guiding hand throughout this year. It has, indeed, been a very full and busy year for nominating, kicking off with a Pastor Search team, the regular slate of elders (with additional ministry positions and changes in ministry profiles), Shukyo Hojin members, finding members-at-large to serve on Nominating , we currently face the start of 2024 with the charge to put together the Associate Pastor Search Committee.
Pastor Search Committee
One of the first tasks of Nominating this year was to put together a Pastor Search Committee. The committee did a wonderful job of searching, praying, and discerning who the Lord has called to lead TUC. We give thanks to the Pastor Search Committee, which is comprised of Jackie Militello, committee chair, Josephine Alade, Damon Bratcher who returned to the US, Curtis Jordan, Jody Fuller, Naomi Kanaiwa, Mitsuhiro Umezu, Remi Yamasaki, and the President, Catherine Sasanuma, serving as an ex-officio member. This team of dedicated people was approved in the special congregational meeting in October to begin the search for our new Senior Pastor.
Slate of Elders
Having spent quite a number of meetings to put together the Pastor Search Committee, the team focused next on filling in positions of elders to serve on council. Through retreats and special sessions,Council reflected on the needs of the church and implemented changes in the By-laws and the makeup of council. Nominating looked at the different portfolios of each ministry team and filled the positions for a new ministry team that is the Property & Technology Ministry.
We thank the following administrators and elders who have accepted the Lord’s call to lead the church in the coming year and who were elected by the congregation at the Congregational Meeting on February 4th:
Catherine Sasanuma (President), Brad Schimdt(VicePresident), Ji Mu (Clerk), Vanessa Sihite (Children and Youth Discipleship) Ikuko Omori, (Property and Technology Ministry Team), Martha Gomez (Community Life), Andy Chen (Worship and Music), Peter Mathies (Spiritual Formation). We were not able to fill the position of Treasurer.
We also thank the following elders continuing their two-year term: Alison Harada (Personnel Management), Francois Keets (Finance), April Morito (Nominating).
Shukyo Hojin
The following persons have agreed to serve as members of Shukyo Hojin, the legal body of the church: Mary Foster, Jody Fuller, Alison Harada, Rika Nakajima, Ikuko Omori, and Junko Takahashi.
Elders & Members Transition
There have been quite a few Elders this year who are stepping down from their positions after having given so much of their time, experience and leadership serving in council. We thank you all: Andy Chen (Nominating), Jodi Fuller (Worship and Music), Eiji Hoshii (Personnel) Isaac Lee (Clerk), Rika Nakajima (Vice President), Brad Schmidt (Evangelism), Alan Sorba (Treasurer), Michiko Yaegashi (Spiritual Formation) and stepping down from serving in Shukyo Hojin: Kathy Matui-Koll and Larry Mojumdar.
The Nominating Team would also like to thank Suresh Kukde for his dedicated participation and invaluable input during his term as member at large. The team also welcomed Maya Tatsuno as a new member at large. She comes with a depth of discernment and a deep love for TUC. Mary Aso, who has been a dedicated member and a blessing in keeping us organized, is also due to rotate off as member at large this year. Lastly, we welcome Yuka Shigeno as a new Nominating team member at large for 2024.
Associate Pastor Search
Nominating starts off 2024 with the task of putting together an Associate Pastor Search Team who will be responsible for finding a new Associate Pastor to work alongside Pastor Hector and Council. We look forward to presenting the nominees of the Associate Pastor Search team to the congregation for approval.