Next Steps

I am extremely excited to announce that I have been accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program with a focus in Reformed Theology offered jointly by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Before going any further, let me clarify that this degree is meant to be pursued and completed while working in a congregational setting, with cooperation between the local church, seminaries, and doctoral candidate to determine how this course of study will be mutually beneficial for all parties. I am delighted session has approved this move and I look forward to integrating my course work here at Church in the Hills through worship leadership, research, and the faithful following of our mission to be Christ’s church here in Bellaire.

A Doctorate of Ministry is the highest professional degree available for clergy and is meant to be completed through a combination of on-site classes and research/writing completed away from campus, culminating in a dissertation based on an element of focus in one’s home church. My time away from Church in the Hills will be limited to two weeks each January and August for the next four years, alternating classes between Pittsburgh and Aberdeen, Scotland, starting this August. Each session will require me to use one Sunday off from the congregation. In general, this degree will not require any additional study leave than is already allowed in my terms of call.

I am overwhelmingly excited to share news about this next step and would be happy to answer any questions, comments, or concerns you might have. I would like to again extend my thanks to the session for their willingness to support and encourage me as I pursue this doctoral degree over the next four to five years. I hope you will all be active participants in this process as a local committee is formed to help guide my course of study and offer suggestions for potential dissertation topics most helpful for the mission of Church in the Hills.

The next few years will be an exciting adventure and I could not be happier to be taking them with Church in the Hills.

Peace and grace to you,

Pastor Andrew Pomerville

Annual Report

2009 Pastor’s Annual Report
Fresh experiences of the Spirit open our eyes to new understandings and opportunities within the Body of Christ. The things we have seen, heard, and done this past year have helped us prepare for the year to come. When we talk about assessing our gifts in the Holy Spirit, we must always remember that these gifts are constantly being translated for the world around us. The Kingdom of God continues at all times and in all places, even when we see changes in everything.
Church in the Hills does not look like the same congregation it was one year ago and that can be a scary realization. I read someone who asserted recently that “very few of us are able to make changes gracefully, with style and ease, yet change comes…whether we like it or not.” The phrase “new normal” is often used to define these adaptations. When there is a birth, a death, a transition, any major event, we are not the same as we were before and we cannot try to recreate what we had. Instead, this new reality becomes our normal and we need to learn what that means.
Our congregation’s new normal is always focused on the transforming power of Jesus Christ. We are not the same church now because today we have different forces around us that we need to address. We have a new economy, a new community, new questions, new answers, and always changing view about the direction of our ministry. However, we must not lose sight of the one who is guiding and directing this providential road – the same loving God who has stood beside us in the past and who will stand beside us wherever we might go in the future.
Reading through this report, it is impossible not to take a kind of holy pride in the mission and calling the members of CITH have made real through God’s power – the community meals, the teen centers and new youth programs, the incredible increase in mission activities and giving, the explosion of participants in worship and fellowship, and the ever increasing presence of CITH in our community.
As we stop to catch our breath this January and consider where we have been, let us never forget we are called to continue moving forward. See where the Spirit is calling you this year, regardless of whether or not we have been there before. Be moved by God to show the grace of Jesus Christ in all we do and in all we say. And just maybe, we’ll follow that ever moving path with some sort of ease. Embrace that we are called into this journey with God.

Traveling alongside you in faith,

Rev. Andrew Pomerville