The Summit Lighthouse, Church Universal and Triumphant®
Ministry and
Outreach Team
January 26, 2002
Dear Friends in Region 4,
We
are very happy to announce that Rev. Kenneth Frazier has agreed to serve as a
Regional Minister for Region 4 of the United States-- New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Maryland, Delaware,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Virginia, and North
Carolina. He has a rich background and
broad skills to offer in serving you.
Ken
is delighted with this new opportunity to work and serve directly with
you. And we are delighted that his
skills—which are widely sought by many organizations—will now be more
accessible for you in Region 4.
As you
know, Ken has recently been president of The Summit Lighthouse, Church
Universal and Triumphant. An ordained
minister of our church, he has been in the ministry for thirty-five years.
Since 1981 he has served as director of three different teaching centers, and
he served directly under our Messenger in the Ashram of the World Mother in Los
Angeles. Ken is a licensed
psychotherapist, an accredited Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor, a Senior
Licensed Trainer for Quest International, and he has a Master of Social Work
equivalency credential. He taught
Spiritual Counseling I and II Intensives for our Ministerial Training
Program. Yet most of all, Ken has a
compassionate heart and a profound understanding of the path of personal
Christhood and the challenges we face on that path.
For
many years our members have been repeatedly asking for ministers in the
field. The recent graduations from the
Ministerial Training Program in July and December 2001 have led to the
commissioning or ordaining of twenty-one new ministers and the initiation of
thirteen new lay brothers and sisters.
These ministers and lay brothers and sisters are eager to serve in our
congregations. Yet, for the present
time, most of our groups would not be able to pay the salary of a full-time
minister. So how do we create a bridge
between our newly increased trained personnel and our groups that are not yet
able to hire them as full-time, salaried personnel? We believe regional ministers and developers can help.
We
are already seeing this approach bear much fruit in our overseas regions that
have regional ministers and developers: Brazil, Russia, Scandinavia and
Ghana. There we are seeing positive
growth and development in our movement.
We pray and expect that the regional ministers in the United States will
help to achieve the same results.
Another
advantage? Regional ministers,
developers will be geographically closer to you and can respond more directly
and quickly to your needs as members, study groups and teaching centers. We
find that we at our international headquarters in Montana are not able to
respond in the most timely and effective way to meet all the local needs in the
United States. Furthermore, you have
in your own region many skillful, passionate and spiritually gifted people who
through networking and organizing can set goals, meet needs and develop the
region.
How We Chose the Regional Minister
In
choosing the regional minister, we followed our regular hiring practices of
posting the job notice and the job description on our website, notifying
membership, receiving applications, conducting interviews and choosing the best
candidate, except for one thing.
Before finalizing our decision, we consulted with the leadership in each
region to receive their feedback on our proposed final choice for the
position. We called a president or
officer of every teaching center and chartered study group in the region,
explained our hiring process and the role of the regional minister, told them
why we thought the candidate we were considering was the best choice for the
position and asked for their feedback on the candidate. Our purpose in seeking confidential
feedback was to provide an opportunity for local leadership to influence our
decision. After we had considered and
carefully weighed their observations about the proposed candidate, we finalized
our decision and offered the position to the final-choice individual.
What
Does a Regional Minister Do?
The Regional Minister has a wide range of duties and
activities (listed below) that he may phase in over time. Initially, he wants to get to know you and
see how he can assist you on your spiritual path and in the work of your groups
and centers. The Regional Minister:
v
Serves as the primary minister and
spiritual consultant to all groups in the region. In this capacity the regional minister would visit communities,
conduct services, retreats and workshops, administer the sacraments, mentor new
ministers and lay brothers and sisters and provide spiritual counseling and
guidance
v
Represents headquarters and
administers national Church/Lighthouse programs in the region.
v
Represents the needs and voices of
members in the region to headquarters.
v
Serves as an integrator and liaison
to balance the fulfillment of the needs and activities of local groups with the
programs and initiatives from headquarters.
v
Supports elected leadership and local
activities and programs.
v
Establishes and administers a program
to recruit and train lay leaders and prospective ministers to serve the needs
of local seekers and affiliates.
v
Encourages networking and cooperation
among groups and participates in knowledge sharing and cooperation with other
regional ministers.
v
Coordinates and supports the
establishment of a regional board.
Ken
plans to visit all the groups in your region in the next few months. He is also available for counseling and
consultation by phone. Please feel free
to call him to introduce yourself or to consult with him about matters on your
heart. If you would like to work with
Ken in serving the region, please also call and let him know. He is eager to get to know all of you and to
work with you to fulfill our shared mission.
(We have omitted Ken’s contact
information for the purpose of this web page and substituted his email) Rev. Ken Frazier
God
bless you on your path and ongoing service.
Onward to victory through loving service!
Yours
in the Joy of Service,
Rev.
Carla Ann Healy
Team
Leader