Sincerely,
Your Pastor Nominating Committee has been very active since last summer and as a result or our patience and review of many candidates, we are now in a position to present to you who we feel is best suited for being our permanent pastor. Nominations were presented to us through many sources, the primary being our own Presbyterian Call Referral Service, located in Louisville, Kentucky. It was through this service that we found the Reverend Betty Dax.
Using the goals that each church established in their Mission Study, the Committee was guided in determining what qualities would best suit our specific interests and programs. Standard questionnaires were established and each candidate was given a fair review and appraisal. It was through this search process that we are confident to have found the best candidate for our churches.
Attached is a short biography of Rev. Betty Dax and her husband, Dave. She will be presented by the Committee on June 21st to each church, who will then vote on her becoming our pastor.
Sincerely,
Lou DuBois, Chairman
"Passionate", "flexible" and "evaluative" are some of the adjectives Rev. Dax uses to describe herself. Bible study and preaching excite her passion. Enjoyment of considering many options and possibilities to solve problems keeps her flexible, and the concept of "looking before you leap" allows her to look for many possible answers to a particular problem. She considers one of her strengths is promoting church growth. Presently involved in new church development, she will bring to Highland and Marlboro new ideas and programs to increase our membership and have them become more involved in the life and growth of the Church.
Dave and Betty Dax will reside at the Marlboro manse. Dave is retired from State service and is exploring new career opportunities presented here in the Hudson Valley. He is actively involved in Presbytery work, currently being the Moderator of Albany Presbytery. He is a lay preacher, having graduated from the Lay Pastors Academy in January 1998. He will assist Betty in many ways, either through preaching one Sunday a month at one church, which would allow the other church full benefit of the Pastor's time that day, or taking care of worship preparation, or assisting in community outreach.
Betty finds early morning walks helpful for her physical and spiritual health. Religious music has always been an important part of her life and she has a wonderful singing voice. In her leisure time she hopes to continue to paint and learn to play the guitar.
The PNC Search process started by compiling a Church Information Form, which contained not only statistical data about our two churches, but the various programs that presently are in effect and what our short-term and long term goals are. In this report we also expressed what qualities we were looking for in a new pastor and what the terms of the call would be, (basically, what could we afford). This report, after being approved by Presbytery Committee on Ministry, was sent to a national referral service of the Presbyterian Church, located in Louisville, Kentucky. They, in turn, presented our CIF to the various locations we selected on the east coast where prospective candidates could review them and respond. They also, by computer matching, sent us a listing of Pastor Information Forms currently on file with them for our review and to pursue if found worthy.
Mother event that the PNC was involved in was a Synod sponsored recruiting session called "Face to Face", held at Stony Point. It was here that we were able to directly interview several pastoral candidates which we had expressed interest in. In total, over 130 pastoral candidates were reviewed, either through the Louisville Call Referral Service, direct contact at the "Face to Face", or other sources which included direct contact with six seminaries, each of the neighboring presbyteries, and advertising in the Presbyterian Outlook. Personal interviews were held with 7 candidates In all instances, the Committee complied with the Equal Opportunity Policy which was approved by each congregation prior to starting our search process.
Through the Louisville Call Referral Service we obtajned the PIF of Rev. Betty Dax. After reviewing her report, it was decided by the Committee to continue dialogue with her. We had developed a typical set of questions for the candidates which represented what we were looking for in a new pastor and her responses to our questions were outstanding. We also learned that her husband was a lay preacher and the current Moderator of the Albany Presbytery. On April 19th several members of the Committee traveled to her present church in Malta, just north of Albany, to hear her preach. As a result of discussions with her after the service, we invited them to visit our churches. Prior to their visit, references were checked, not only by Presbytery, but own committee. All responses came back reflecting good qualities and excellent recommendations. On April 29th Betty and her husband, Dave, were given a tour of each church and the surrounding communities. Afterward the entire Committee met with them and it was concluded that the feelings were mutual for them to come here. Arrangements were then made for them to meet with Jim Vande Berg, our Presbytery Executive, and the Committee on Ministry. This was done on Mother's Day, May 10th. After the COM meeting held on May 12th, she received their full support to come to our churches. The terms of the call were established first by our Committee, agreed by Rev. Betty Dax, and have been approved by the Committee on Ministry.
The next step in the process is having the candidate preach and then approval of the Pastoral Call by the congregations of each church. This is scheduled for June 21st, first at Highland, whose service will start earlier at 9 A.M., followed by their congregational meeting. Rev. Dax will then travel to Marlboro to preach at 11 A.M., followed by their meeting. The vote at Highland will not be made public until Marlboro votes, since both churches must approve the Pastoral Call. If approved by both churches, then the candidate can be informed of the results and accept the call.
Assuming that both congregations approve the call and Rev. Dax accepts, two members from each church will be present at the Presbytery meeting on July 28th to attest to this fact. Then the call will be accepted and formally approved by the Presbytery of Hudson River and a date for installation will be announced. This is tentatively set for September 20th. Rev. Dax will start August 15th, as detailed in her terms of call.
Respectively Submitted,
Louis S. DuBois, Chairman
| Committee Members: | Howard Baker, Secretary | Rick Bolstad |
| Carla Lesh | Charlotte Martin | |
| Tito Velez | Gail Minard | |
| Gene Zarzycki |
The Rev. Betty Dax was elected by the Highland Church with 38 unanimous votes and at Marlboro with a vote of 47 for her to one negative vote.
Following this action will be the action of the Presbytery of Hudson River meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 1998 at the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in New Windsor. The Presbytery is being asked to concur in these calls. Witnessing the congregational action at this Presbytery meeting will be Elders Lou DuBois and Gail Minard along with alternate Jessica Martin from Highland, and Elders Gene Zarzycki and Carla Lesh along with alternate Tito Velez from Marlboro. The Call has August 15, 1998 as the beginning date for these new pastorates, along with a tentative date of September 20th for her Installation as your new pastor.
We are deeply grateful to all who helped with the Mission Study which was a prelude to the work of the Pastor Nominating Committee. The Pastor Nominating Committee (or PNC) worked over a year preparing a Church Information Form, reviewing many dossiers, attending a Face-to-Face with a number of candidates at Stony Point Center, visiting and interviewing candidates. The committee unanimously and enthusiastically presented Betty as its candidate. We are grateful for the work of that Committee:
From Highland:
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From Marlboro:
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A great pastorate is not the product of a great pastor, but the result of a great team working together in ministry under the guidance of the Spirit. On Father's Day Betty talked about coming home. In telling a little about herself, she talked of the pastorate as a calling for her since childhood. She talked about how coming to the Highland and the Marlboro churches was like coming home to the church in which she grew up.
Now is an exciting time in the life of these churches, the beginning of a new day, a time to grow into the Twenty First Century, a time to grow together in spirituality, in membership, in stewardship, in outreach and mission. A time to grow in faith!
So we give a warm and wonderful welcome to Betty and David Dax! May God bless us all in this new relationship!
