1999-2000
“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” - 1 Peter 5:1-3
This past year has been busy in many and different ways for the members of your Session, however, we have been sustained by the grace of our Chief Shepherd. The cooperation and support from the congregation continues to make our work of shepherding a joy. We thank God for the privilege of serving Him in this capacity, for His sustaining power and for each of you that He has placed under our care.
The Session has met twenty-five times over the course of the past twelve months. Normally, our schedule includes two meetings per month except for the summer period when we meet just once per month. These meetings included two each with the Deacons and Deaconesses. Special meetings are conducted, as needed. We also do much work by phone and e-mail that enables us to be timely in the giving and receiving of information regarding our various responsibilities.
Last fall, the Session welcomed the John Leonard household and Valerie Orr and her children into the congregation. In December, cousins, Josiah Dahar and Sarah Dahar were baptized and the Session welcomed Jillian O’Brien and Calvin Standish to participate in the sacrament of the Lord’s Table. Also in December, while home on military leave, Clinton Williams gave his adult profession of faith. Abigail Plummer professed Christ before the congregation in January 2000. We praise God for these testimonies of His faithfulness to honor His covenant. We look forward to other such tokens of God’s grace, as the fruit of the gospel becomes manifest.
Elder John McGrath served as our delegate to the fall meeting of Presbytery, which was held in Oswego, NY. Elder Peter Howe was appointed delegate to the spring meeting and had the privilege of examining his son Daniel, a seminary student, in the area of personal godliness. Elder Kevin Plummer concluded his work with the Fulton congregation in May of this year and has returned to active service with the Oswego congregation. Besides his work as our Teaching Elder, Pastor Swartz moderates over Session whenever we meet. He also attends all of the Presbytery meetings and continues to serve on the Seminary Board of Trustees. He is the current Moderator of Synod and will remain so until the summer of 2001 (July 14, 2001) when Synod will convene at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. In February, Pastor Swartz, Pastor Iamaio and Elder John McGrath were called before a Presbytery Commission to give an account for their work as the Walton Commission. After inquiring into this matter at length, the Commission, which consisted of Pastors Ed Robson, Ken Smith, Harold Harrington (moderator) and Ruling Elder George Goerner, upheld the findings of the Walton Commission Final Report. Also, formal charges brought against the Walton Commission were found to be without warrant. On the following day, the Presbytery Commission met in Walton to make their findings public and declared the matter closed.
In addition to our normal work, Session spent considerable time in prayer and labor this past year in the pursuit of obtaining our own church property. It is now apparent that God has answered the prayers of the congregation. As of this writing, we are only a few days to a formal closing on the Wesleyan Church property. We thank God for this provision and for the graciousness of members and friends of the congregation as expressed in their prayer and financial support.
This past spring, we enjoyed the teaching and preaching of Pastor Ken Smith and Pastor Brian Coombs as they presented a seminar on evangelism. This fall, during the celebration of our twentieth anniversary as a congregation, Pastor Harold Harrington will be teaching on the theme of “Christ’s Kingship and Our Public Testimony.”
As you know, the work of the Session includes the unpleasant, but necessary, responsibility of church discipline. We are pleased to report that, over the past year, the Elders convened only once to administer discipline. May God continue to spare us from the ravages of sin. May He be pleased to bless the means of church discipline for the “maintenance of the truth, the preservation of the purity of the church by removing offenses, by reforming offenders and by deterring others from offending,” and thereby, promote the spiritual good of all the members and adherents (Book of Discipline, Chapter I; 3, p. E-1)
Please continue praying for your Session on a daily basis. Our work is a spiritual work and requires spiritual means to accomplish the desired ends. (Eph.6:12; 2 Thes.3:1,2)
Also, keep in mind that your Elders are here to serve you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us individually or as a Session, if you have need of our help.
Respectfully submitted,
John W. McGrath, Clerk of Session
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