The Consistory is the group of church leaders elected by the congregation who act on behalf of the congregation to ensure that the day to day operations of the church run smoothly. They make financial decisions and in general are the trustees of the church.

Members of the Spiritual council are referred to as Elders. They are elected by the congregation and are responsible, in concert with the pastor, for the spiritual life, education and worship life of the congregation.

We hold our relationships in a sacred trust as people of God. We promise this in a spirit of prayer, guided by the Holy Spirit as we seek to follow Jesus on our journey of faith together. We will continue to seek harmony in our blessed community. Whenever we find ourselves in an interaction that does not represent the relational grace which we have promised, we will remind each other of our commitment to abide by this covenant.

Relationships that honor God and each other.
We will sincerely welcome and accept all who enter our faith community, and greet everyone warmly and with good humor. We nurture spiritual and personal growth. We will treat everyone, including our pastor, our staff members and our congregation’s leaders with respect and love. We will encourage each other to join in activities and we honor the right to decline. We promise to value everyone’s participation as a meaningful expression of love for God.

Open communication.
We will use language that is clear, complete and honest, be open to another’s point of view, focus on issues and not personalities, and respond with sensitivity, thoughtfulness and understanding, while constantly striving to be kind and respectful with grace and empathy.

Resolve conflict with patience.
Disagreement is normal and natural. Accepting this, we will be open and work together in a gentle, loving, and peaceful manner. We will be slow to anger and readily practice forgiveness. When we disagree, we will communicate directly with the person with whom we disagree, speak only for ourselves, and take responsibility for our own actions. We promise to follow our conflict resolution procedures. We will recognize and treat our differences as opportunities for greater understanding.

Sharing God’s abundant gifts.  
We recognize that God has blessed us with abundance, and so, we will cultivate generosity with hospitality. We will give freely and joyfully of our time, talents, finances and energy, and we will respect all gifts made to the church.

As a Leader, I make these additional promises:
I commit myself to do my best to bring glory to God in all of our conversations, meetings, ministry and mission undertakings.

I will speak only for myself, being open and honest about my own expectations, concerns and agendas.

I will actively participate in the discernment, discussion and decision-making process.
    
I will listen to, invite, and encourage other points of view and consider them respectfully.
    
I will ask questions to clarify my understanding.

I will not put others down, or engage in argumentative, derogatory conversation.

I will feel free to disagree with issues and methods, and I promise to restate what I am disagreeing with first, and then, staying fully engaged, will say what is on my mind with no hidden agendas.

I will not knowingly participate in negative or derogatory conversations about others and will remind any brothers or sisters who try to engage me in these conversations that we do not do that in the church.


If I am asked to bring an issue, not involving conflict or criticism, to a leadership team on behalf of another person or group, I will be as precise as possible regarding the number of others for whom I am speaking.

If I am asked to bring an issue, which involves conflict, to a leadership team on behalf of another person or group, I will remind that person or group of our process for addressing and resolving conflict or concerns.


If I offend or anger someone through my words or actions, or I feel another has offended or angered me through their words or actions, I will first discuss it directly with them and not talk to anyone else about it, unless we mutually agree to include more people in the discussion. My goal is to live in reconciliation and harmony.
 
When I do make mistakes (and I will), I will admit them and make amends.  

If it becomes evident to me that behaviors within the congregation and/or the leadership are non-productive, disruptive, unhealthy, and/or destructive I will remind us that we have covenanted to address them.