Retirement Notices
We are announcing the retirement of three of our longstanding committee members, and we would like to thank each of them and their spouses for their dedicated service to the community.
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In Christ, we are all called to service in one form or another. As interest in the Tidings Magazine continued to grow, it created a need for a service committee to be established in 1991 to help with the work. Since then, many brothers and sisters have shared in the effort.
We are announcing the retirement of three of our longstanding committee members, and we would like to thank each of them and their spouses for their dedicated service to the community. They have been instrumental in helping to build the faith of brothers, sisters, and young people through the magazine’s pages. While we could write much about their contributions, we are making special note of one significant contribution of each.
Bro. Ken Sommerville
First, we thank Bro. Ken Sommerville (Simi Hills Ecclesia, CA) for his thirty-two years of service as one of the founding members of the Committee. Bro. Ken was officially a committee member, but his wife, Sis. Bonnie has also made a significant contributions as well. Bro. Ken and Sis. Bonnie have been selfless workers in the faith for many years and on many other committees.
We are truly grateful for Bro Ken’s wise counsel. He has always helped bring a spiritual perspective to various Tidings decisions and directions over the years, including how to deal with some very challenging topics. His contribution of numerous articles and work on special issues has also given refreshment and spiritual benefit to our readers. Bro. Ken’s dependable and spiritually balanced perspective was instrumental in helping achieve unity on the North American West Coast. The success of that unity continues to this day and contains the elements needed to help bring about unity for the rest of the continent. While Bro.
Ken’s regular counsel as a committee member ends at the end of this year; we rest in knowing he is only a phone call away if help is needed. Thank you again, Bro. Ken and Sis. Bonnie.
Bro. Joe Hill
Bro. Joe Hill (Austin Leander Ecclesia, TX) will be retiring from the Committee after twenty-seven and a half years of service. Bro. Joe leveraged his detailed knowledge of Scripture in numerous articles and reviews of articles. Bro. Joe and his wife, Sis. Kathy, together took on multiple roles on the committee.
Many know Bro. Joe was my predecessor when he served as Chairman of the Tidings for 13 years. You may not know that he, along with tremendous help and dedication from Sis. Kathy also simultaneously acted as Publisher and handled financial matters, which is no trivial task. Bro. Joe and Sis. Kathy literally saved the Tidings from near collapse a decade ago when the Tidings suddenly lost our contracted printer and distributor quite abruptly. Finding a new printer quickly and putting a new distribution process in place was no small feat.
Publishing the Editor’s content involves taking the rich written work and transforming it into one of high appeal to read. Magazines in Christadelphia are highly subsidized by additional donations that subscription costs do not cover. Their outreach work greatly helped bring awareness that such donations were needed, and in turn, we have been blessed by the community’s generosity. We refer you to more on their work of service found in the Jan 2020 Issue of the Tidings (tidings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2021-01-Jan-v2.pdf). Thank you again, Bro. Joe and Sis. Kathy.
Bro. Kevin Flatley
Bro. Kevin Flatley (Pittsburgh Ecclesia, PA) is retiring after twelve years of service. His steady hand in chairing and facilitating Committee meetings has been a tremendous contribution to the Committee and other meetings within the community. The value of this particular skill is woefully undervalued among many; however, we have seen its true value.
I would encourage Bro. Kevin to author a guidance document for others on effectively chairing a meeting. This project would greatly benefit Arranging Boards and various other committees in the community. His facilitation skills were complimented by his balanced understanding of the application of Scripture to help the Committee address sensitive and important topics.
Bro. Kevin, along with Sis. Melinda has contributed greatly to the review of articles, including content, accuracy, and readability. Their combined awareness of the community’s needs has been appreciated, as they have consistently shared their insights in the spirit of humility as servants of Christ. Thank you again, Bro. Kevin. Thankfully, Sis. Melinda will continue working closely with our Editor on editing and proofing of Tidings content.
In a separate letter to each of those retiring, I noted that Scripture does not speak of retirement as we understand it today. The word, or even concept, is really only found when speaking of the priests, who had been bearing a significant physical load in their priestly careers.
The priest was to retire from the heavy lifting, but his assistance and counsel would continue. In keeping with this, we shall not be shy in calling upon these brothers and sisters who have tirelessly given of themselves for the benefit of the community. Please join me in thanking each of them for this aspect of their service in the Lord.
Alan Markwith,
Chairman,
The Christadelphian Tidings