Session Update – November 2023

The Session of Highland Park Presbyterian Church is the ruling body of our congregation, charged with governance, overseeing the Church’s spiritual health, and guiding its mission for Christ in the world. To do this better, the Session frequently communicates with the congregation of HP Pres to report its decisions and activities.

On Monday, November 27, our Session met after prayer and fasting to discuss leading HP Pres. Below are some of the highlights from the meeting that you should be aware of and pray for this next month. If you have questions or feedback about any of these topics, you can contact the Session.

• Recommendations for Elders and Deacons are due before December 10, 2023, at hppres.org/recommend.
• Our meeting began with a time in worship led by Aaron Williams.
• Our Elders spent time learning from Ryan Tompkins, Licensed Professional Counselor, on the topics of individual and institutional suffering and grief.
• Time was spent sharing remembrances of Bryan Dunagan. We’d love for you to share your memories of him. You can do so at hppres.org/bryan.
• The Vision Committee spent time leading our Session through an exercise to better understand the current state of our church and think about what’s needed in the near future.
• Our Annual Session Retreat is taking place in January. This retreat is a time to seek God’s will for our church, and this year, we have a clear focus: engaging with our denomination, ECO, to explore the first steps needed in the search process for a Senior Pastor. Our Elders are prayerfully engaged in seeking the Lord, and we ask you to please be praying for them and the retreat as we seek wisdom and discernment from God together. We’ll share more after the retreat, so stay tuned.
• As we move into a season of transition, we’ve created a landing page where you can read answers to the most frequently asked questions about our first and next steps. You can also submit questions you’d like to have answered by our Session in the future. Head to hppres.org/questions to learn more.
• The Session of HP Pres is sending a delegation of Elders to the ECO National Gathering, Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2024, in Greenville, SC.
• The Operations Committee reported that, as of Nov. 27, we have received $1,537,810 in giving so far this fiscal year. Our goal by Dec. 31 is $4,580,929. End-of-year giving accounts for 25% of the Church’s annual operating budget needs. Thank you for helping us launch strongly into our next calendar year.

The Session of HP Pres