The Ministers Council seeks to provide the kinds of connection that support and strengthen your own ministry.
We do this through smaller 'covenant groups' which meet regularly to share challenges and hopes with colleagues in an informal setting. These are covenanted groups that have an annually defined membership and schedule. For more information about these groups, contact one of the members of the Leadership Team listed below.
On a larger scale, we gather as opportunities are provided for us through the Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches and the local Seattle Baptist Union. Those larger annual gatherings include a dinner cruise for clergy and their spouses in August, a trip to Safeco Field for a Mariners game some time during the Summer, and our Ministers Council Luncheon at the Evergreen Annual Meeting in the Fall. Information about education, sabbaticals, and other resources for clergy is also available through the national office of the Ministers Council
The Evergreen Ministers Council also offers an annual Clergy Retreat in the Spring. This year's retreat, March 31-April 1, is titled "May I Help You: What Really Helps People Grow" led by the Rev. Margaret Marcuson, former American Baptist pastor and now a coach and consultant working with both pastors and churches. Her book "Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry" will be published in 2009 by Church Publishing. The retreat is hosted by Camp Bethel on the Olympic Peninsula, and is a time for relaxation, fellowship, and conversation with the program itself primarily planned for after lunch on Monday, March 31, through Tuesday morning, April 1. In order to provide unstructured time for rest and fellowship, we encourage clergy who are able to do so to come in as early as Sunday evening and to stay through Wednesday lunch. This retreat is paid for through the resources of the Council. We encourage all clergy to attend. To register, contact Tim Phillips via email or call (206) 632-5188.
What makes all this possible are the dues paid by our Ministers Council members. Dues for this membership year -- through August of 2008 -- are $55 (some of which goes on to our national American Baptist Ministers Council and some remains with our local Council). Payment of dues should be made payable to The Evergreen Ministers Council and should be sent to:
Tim Phillips, University Baptist Church, (206)
632-5188 email Rev. Phillips
Cathy Fransson, Seattle First Baptist Church, (206)
325-6051 email Rev. Fransson
Clinton McNair, Seattle University School of Theology
& Ministry, (206) 296-6968 email Rev. McNair
Angela Farrar, MultiFaith Works email Rev. Farrar