The Pastor Search Committee is pleased to announce a candidate for Pastor, the Reverend Anita Laffoon.
Anita has a B. A. in Religious Studies from Randolph Macon College and a Master of Divinity degree from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. She has begun coursework focused on hospitality for the Doctor of Ministry program at The Campbell University Divinity School. She was ordained in 2011 by Cornerstone Christian Church, and her professional experience is quite ecumenical. She has also served children and youth in Episcopal, Methodist, and Baptist congregations. However, her experience is not limited to young people. She refers to a former ministry position as the Minister of Etcetera because of “all other duties as assigned” found in a job description. She comes to us highly recommended by several Ginter Park Baptist affiliated folks. She is well-educated, experienced in church work, and grounded in her knowledge of herself.
Our job as a committee was to find in a pastor the best fit for our current congregation and for our hopes for the future. We believe that Anita is the person best suited for the position and present her to the church for your consideration. We have found Anita to be warm, welcoming, and authentic. We believe she has the skills and heart to shepherd GPBC through the next stages of our journey. We have also laughed a lot together during our interviews with her. She gets us and it has been joyous. She has said twice, “I have never had so much fun in an interview before.” Although we have many challenges before us, what a delight to face challenges with joy, laughter, and love for God and one another.
We are so excited for you to meet Anita and get to know her. Anita will be our guest proclaimer on Sunday, July 10th, and share a message entitled, “What It Takes” on the lectionary text of Luke 10:25-37. Come and listen. Then join us for fellowship and a lunch of tacos following worship. Why tacos? We will let Anita and the committee share that with you then.
On July 24th we will hold a business meeting following worship for the purpose of forming a consensus vote to call her as Pastor. Details of her start date, based on favorable approval by the church, and compensation will be forthcoming as we continue to work out those arrangements in mutually beneficial ways.
We are grateful for all that God is doing in our congregation. As always, continue to pray for our church, its current leaders, and for Anita as we all follow the Spirit’s leading in this time of transition.
Respectfully,
The Pastor Search Committee – Tracy Cady, Annie Campbell, Eric Johnson, Dixie Leathers, Sandra Hack Polaski, and Karen Talley
“It is precisely the searching and longing that puts us in a situation where God can get involved and show us things we haven’t seen yet. Step into God’s love.”
Artwork attribution: Valente, Liz. God’s Love, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved July 1, 2022]. Original source: Liz Valente, https://www.instagram.com/donalizvalente/.