Download this guide (pdf, below) to our 2010 church officer nominees to learn more about the group which was elected to church office on March 7. They were ordained and/or installed on Aug. 29.
Sixty-two elders comprise our Session, the governing body of the church. Elders are chosen by the congregation, and this process of choosing leaders is central to the idea of the Presbyterian Church.
The name Presbyterian comes from the Greek word for elder, presbuteroi.
The practice of electing elders goes back to the Old Testament and was practiced in the early church. The famous Sanhedrin of Jerusalem was a group of 71 elders who served as a kind of supreme court for all Jewry.
Theologically, we continue with the practice of electing elders to stay in continuity with our Biblical roots. We elect rather than appoint our elders to uphold our belief in full congregational participation and follow a tradition of democracy and representative government instead of hierarchy and centralization of power with the clergy.
Being elected an elder is a serious assignment. Let us all pray that all our leaders will follow God's direction and stay focused on our very important responsibilities.
