At our last Presbytery meeting on September 17th we approved the call to Rev. Jason Micheli to serve as our Designated General Presbyter. Jason is coming from the Los Ranchos Presbytery. He has a Doctor of Philosophy in the Hebrew Bible, is well versed in finances and fundraising, and is a board member of PC(USA)’s A Corporation. He is also a kind, approachable guy.
St. Andrew’s is a church that is actively engaged in our presbytery through our mission giving, per capita giving, and active service. As many of you know, St. Andrew’s Elder Sandy Thoits is the Stated Clerk of Santa Barbara Presbytery and Elder Scott Eschbach serves as its treasurer. Several of our members have served on presbytery committees, our Session faithfully sends commissioners to each meeting, and some of our members have even served terms as Moderator. In other words, St. Andrew’s is fully engaged in our denomination—we value, support, and benefit from the larger church. For this reason, Jason’s arrival is big news for us.
I was honored to serve on the search committee that brought Jason to us. I got to meet him months ago and liked him from the very start. He struck me as humble and committed. His only agenda is to serve as God would have him, whether that meant leading a large congregation, helping to gracefully and compassionately close down a small one, or leaving church work altogether to care for a family member. Jason’s energy seems to be focused on what is best for the whole community and not what is best for Jason.
Jason will visit us here at St. Andrew’s in the near future. I look forward to introducing him to St. Andrew’s in person. I am very hopeful for what his tenure will bring to SB Presbytery. We seem to be heading toward good things!
Blessings,
Pastor Jen