Staff Changes
I pray that you and your loved ones experience a blessed 2024. This Partners newsletter provides an update on congregation staffing as we enter a new calendar year.
We bid farewell to Phil Pelz at the end of the 2023 calendar year. We wanted to take this brief opportunity to publicly recognize and thank Phil Pelz for his 6 1/2 years of service at Holy Cross as our Youth & Family Minister and Minister of Discipleship. Among many other things, Phil helped us start a regular middle school and high school youth group. Phil made many deep connections with youth and young adults and parents while serving here and we are very grateful for his service. He has decided to pursue other opportunities and interests that God has laid on his heart in the next year.
In the interim, especially Jan-May of 2024, we are working hard to continue all of these important youth ministry activities. Chad Van Meter, our Minister of Community Engagement, with parent helpers, will be stepping in to guide our Middle School Youth (still every other Sunday at 5 pm). And we are excited to announce Brian Loesel (Holy Cross partner and Concordia Lutheran High School teacher) will continue serving our high school youth, now in the leadership role (every Sunday at 7 pm). Holy Cross deacon Dan Scheerer will also be helping Brian. Phil’s school classes have been parceled out to Jacob Koehler (Shepherd of School) and me.
After a "soft retirement" to part-time status back in August, Beverly Stein (Bookkeeper and HR Director) officially retired at the conclusion of 2023. As we wrap up the task of transitioning to new financial/payroll software in the next few months, the process improvements that this change will bring will allow Suzi Eloph (Staff Accountant) and Tama Brenneke (School Bookkeeper / Church Office) to handle all of the accounting needs of Holy Cross without further staff additions. HR responsibilities will be picked up by Scott Hinton, who is now our new Director of Personnel, effective 1/15/2024. Scott has had significant work experience in this area and God has blessed him with a huge heart for people and a passion for helping them to develop their God-given potential. We are excited to welcome him onto the Holy Cross team!
After six years of service to the many partners and staff members of our church, our friend and colleague Peggy Zilz (Congregational Director of Community & Care) has left her role here at Holy Cross. This transition will give her the ability to focus her time on her family, as well as the freedom to pursue other ministry opportunities that God may set before her. Peggy's duties have been dispersed among the church staff. Kim Steveson (Worship Assistant) is handling all the baptisms, weddings and funerals for the congregation. Tamber Schorey (Director of Communications) is handling the membership of the congregation. Don Henry (Pastor of Care) is seeing over all care needs of the congregation.
The most critical staffing decision for 2024 involves Pastor Harrington. He has done extraordinary work as both an executive director and a pastor for the past 18 months. What God has made increasingly clear to him during this time is that he wants to serve solely as a pastor in a smaller congregation that will provide the opportunity for him to serve as a “generalist,” performing a wider range of traditional pastoral responsibilities. We recently had a deep, heartfelt conversation on this matter, and I have reluctantly concluded that it would be unwise to stand in the way of God’s leading in Pastor and Deaconess Harrington’s lives. I believe they will provide outstanding ministry to some blessed congregation. Hence, his name will be made available by the Indiana District for calling congregations throughout our Synod. For now, both Pastor and Deaconess Harrington will continue to serve Holy Cross, and we will have wonderful opportunities to thank God and them for their ministry in our midst, until that time when Pastor receives and accepts a Call.
The SLT (I, especially!) need an opportunity to hear from you regarding questions, concerns, and ideas regarding present and future staffing at Holy Cross. You are invited to a Listening Post on Wednesday, January 24 at 1:30 pm or 6:30 pm (Greenhaus).
We are thankful for a great ministry team that has and will come alongside through these transitions. Please continue to pray for the presence and power of Jesus Christ in and through the ministry of Holy Cross as He guides us and leads us to the right ministry leaders.
~ Rev. Dr. Thomas Ahlersmeyer, Senior Pastor