Consistory
The consistory governs the life and ministry of our congregation. It is made up of those who hold three offices in the church: minister, elder, and deacon. The three offices within the consistory complement each other and are mutually supportive and mutually accountable.
Minister
The primary responsibilities of the minister are preaching and teaching. Ministers—women and men—are called by God to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, administer the sacraments, and care for the members of the congregation. They are to build up and equip the church for its ministry in the world.
Deacon
The primary responsibilities of deacons fall into six main categories, including stewardship and mission.
Elder
Elders are primarily and particularly responsible for the spiritual oversight of the congregation.
What do we do?
St. John's Consistory meets every third Thursday of the month. We group through our agenda using Robert's Rules of Order to conduct our meetings in decent and good order. We begin and end each meeting with prayer. As the consistory, we go over a monthly pastoral report, individual committee reports, financial and budget reports. We address any new business, subcommittee work, special reports and correspondences. To get an overview of the consistory meetings, subscribe to the Kerk at the bottom of the page!
An Elder and Deacon sit on every committee at St. John's. Elder and Deacon pairs are sometimes chairs of the committees they sit on, sometimes other church volunteers head committees.
Elder and Deacon terms are three years.