A Pilgrimage through Transitions
Pastoral Search Committee Update January 24, 2012: Technology improves the search and call process. The Internet lets us read and/or hear sermons as soon as candidates identify the church they’re serving. Likewise, candidates check our website to learn about us. Almost all documents come as e-mail attachments. Imagine the commitment of the committee chair who has sent or received nearly 800 e-mails to date! In the past, initial interviews of top candidates were made by telephone. Our interviews used SKYPE, allowing us to see and hear each other in real time giving us rich conversations. Within the next two to three months, individually and privately, several candidates will be in Eugene to visit our church and offer sermons in a neutral pulpit out of town. While technology accelerates information exchange, we’re left to ourselves in the body of our church community to proceed through the discernment process of resolving who to invite to be our next senior minister. With deep gratitude and request for continued prayers from the congregation for our discernment. . . . Jim Brown, Search Committee Chaplain |
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December 13, 2011:
The Search Committee is pleased to share the news that we have narrowed our list of candidates. Over the first week of December, we interviewed four top candidates via Skype. For over an hour committee members took turns asking questions, and then the candidates had their turn! How appropriate that this exploration—this experience of getting to know each other—happened during Advent, the season of waiting and expectancy for God to enter our hearts in new and surprising ways.
We are grateful to Don Gall (retired UCC pastor and member of this congregation), for patiently working with us on a “practice” interview, through which we refined our questions and grew comfortable with Skype technology (!).
What’s next? We move on to reference checks for the top candidates to learn more about their skill sets and experience.
We think of this search-and-call process as a ministry of profound and sacred service to you, the congregation. Thank you for your prayers of support and trust in us. We are so grateful!
Please stop by the Pastoral Search table in Fellowship Hall after service to enjoy a cup of coffee and chat with us about the search— all comments and questions are welcome.
Laurie Power, Search Committee member
November 22, 2011
Cheerful Greetings!
As the holidays quickly approach it is appropriate for the search committee to give an update on the current search process. Through the warm summer and sunny early fall, we read, discussed, and evaluated 39 ministerial profiles. We have retained eight candidates for further consideration. Now through the chill of autumn, we are listening, reading, and evaluating select sermons and worship materials from these eight candidates. All our decisions are made by thoughtful and prayerful consensus. Through the Advent season, we will move on to phone interviews and reference checks for the top candidates.
Please stop by the Pastoral Search table in Fellowship Hall after service to enjoy a cup of coffee and chat with us about the search process—all comments and questions are welcome!
Ranfis Villatoro, Search Committee member
October 25, 2011
The Pastoral Search Committee Continues to Narrow
the List of Candidates
Our church has received approximately 35 applications for the Senior Pastor position. We’ve retained a third of them, and at least one candidate has removed his/herself from consideration for personal reasons. Other potential candidates continue to contact us for additional information. We are receiving and accepting new profiles on a rolling basis.
When a candidate requests that the conference send his/her profile to our church for consideration, each of the search committee members reads the entire profile, either electronically or on paper. Each candidate profile contains approximately 23 pages of information and includes the candidate’s statement on ministry, reference people’s comments, and criminal background checks. In addition, a profile lists 43 attributes of ministerial skills. Eight reference people and the candidate each appraise the candidate’s 12 leading attributes. Each of us on your senior pastor search committee also then make our own evaluation, and then together we discuss each candidate carefully and prayerfully before making a group decision whether to retain the profile as a candidate of interest or to release the candidate to continue their own process. Retained candidates receive additional specialized questions from us, and again we evaluate their fit with our church.
This month we received special guidance from Conference Minister Walter John Boris, enabling us to enter a new phase of closer evaluation of retained candidates through their sermons and worship planning. In the near weeks we will begin arranging telephone interviews for the most promising candidates.
The Search Committee met with parents of young children to hear about their priorities, interests, concerns, and ideas for the new Senior Pastor and the Search process. Their comments were helpful and are combined with the overall comments we’ve received. We continue to hold informal conversations in the Fellowship Hall after services.
Look for members of the Search Committee on Sunday mornings—we’re wearing green name tags. Please feel free to contact any of us with your comments or to arrange for one or two of us to meet with you or your group.
We will continue to make regular reports in future Shaloms as the search progresses.
Lisa Ponder, Pastoral Search Committee
September 27, 2011
What a learning experience this has been for me! Did you know that only a small percentage of UCC churches are Open and Affirming? Did you know that with 775 members, we are considered a large church?
Before our church could post the coming Senior Pastor position, we were required by our denomination to fill out a detailed form called a “Local Church Profile.” Many people in this church helped fill out this 27-page document that asks about demographics of our congregation and city; where we spend our mission dollars; details about any capital campaigns we have had; how our church does planning and much more. I learned a lot about our church by reading this document, and that is the point. It gives potential candidates a snapshot of our church and the area we live in. Our “Local Church Profile” helps them to decide if we will be a good fit. It is available for you to see in the column on the right.
Our denomination also requires a similar document from pastors seeking a new position called a “Ministerial Profile.” Once created, it is filed with their local conference. When a job opening appears on the UCC website that sounds interesting, the pastor asks their local conference to forward it on to the church in question. The result is that Ministerial Profiles are generic applications that can be used to apply for teaching positions, a chaplain position in a seminary, or even conference staff. It is not written with our church in mind, and could even be a couple years old, but it does give us a lot of information about the candidate and their experience.
Ministerial Profiles are continually being forwarded to us by the conference and are being prayerfully considered by your committee as we continue our search for the leader of our congregation.
Jenny Allen, Pastoral Search Committee
August 30, 2011
Twenty five applications for the senior pastor position have been received so far. We have prayerfully evaluated each one and have retained seven for further consideration.
Meanwhile, the announcement for the senior pastor position will remain on the UCC national website for the time being. Ads are running in the Christian Century, the Progressive Christianity website has posted the position, and UCC-friendly seminaries have been asked to place the opening on their alumni pages.
In addition, a vigorous outreach to individuals in the wider church community has been launched to help us identify individuals who might become a great leader for our congregation. We are welcoming any suggestions these individuals may have with regard to good candidates for consideration by our search committee and encourage them to share this opportunity as they see appropriate.
Look for members of the Search Committee during Fellowship Hour after service—we’re wearing green name tags. Please feel free to ask us questions and make suggestions . . . and, as always, please hold us in your prayers.
We are grateful and humbled by the trust you have placed in us.
Respectfully, The Search Committee: Jenny Allen, Jim Brown, Peter Cadigan, Mary Nyquist Koons, Martha Pitts, Lisa Ponder, Laurie Power, John Soper, Laurie Swanson-Gribskov, Ranfis Villatoro.
July 26, 2011
Dear Church Members and Friends:
Rest assured that during these hazy, lazy days of summer, your search committee has been diligently at work. We meet on a weekly basis, have made great progress on a number of fronts, and hope we have been a visible presence. Perhaps you have noticed our green name tags, as well as the “Search Committee” table staffed each Sunday in the Fellowship Hall. Please feel free to approach any of us at any time to ask a question, or to find out how we are progressing in this work of ministry with which you have entrusted us. Specifically, we will be running ads in the August 9 and September 6 issues of Christian Century.
As a committee of nine members, we have grown spiritually as individuals and as a group. We have come together from a wide variety of life experiences and diverse backgrounds with the purpose of searching for and calling our next Senior Pastor. To date we have received more than a dozen applications and are working our way prayerfully through the evaluation process. We pledge our diligence and thoroughness in this effort, which we know will result in the best possible outcome for our beloved church.
Respectfully,
The Search Committee: Jenny Allen, Jim Brown, Peter Cadigan, Mary Nyquist Koons, Martha Pitts, Lisa Ponder, Laurie Power, John Soper, Laurie Swanson-Gribskov, Ranfis Villatoro.
June 21, 2011:
“Thank you” to the Table Talk participants at the June 5, 2011 Congregational meeting. Over 250 comments were received.
The June 26 bulletin will include an insert inviting more comments to the Search Committee.
The Church Profile has been finalized and sent to our Conference Minister Walter John Boris for his signature. He will also facilitate getting our job opening posted on the denomination’s website (www.UCC.org/classifieds) in “UCC Employment Opportunities.” We’re expecting the Church Profile, along with the Senior Pastor Job Description, to be posted on our church’s website by the end of July. Printed copies will also be available in the church office.
The Search Committee’s goal is to include an update in each Shalom and explore additional ways to hear the voices of the congregation on the process.
Jim Brown, Search Committee Chaplain
May 24, 2011:
The Pastoral Search Committee is up and running! Among our first tasks is the completion of a Church Profile. “Profile” is an apt description, since it includes both data about our congregation and the local community, as well as distinctive characteristics of our beloved church. This profile will be made available to interested candidates. The committee is also working on the job announcement for the new Senior Pastor, which will be posted on the UCC website. We expect to complete these tasks by the end of June.
You can help shape the profile during table-talk conversations with Search Committee and Church Board members at the June 5 Congregational meeting, as well as responding to invitations in the June 19 and June 26 church bulletins. A drop box will be available in the narthex for the forms.
Look for regular reports in future Shaloms on the progress we are making. We are humbled by the trust and confidence you have given us. We will do our best to reflect your voices in our deliberations and decisions. Thank you.
Laurie Power, Chair, Pastoral Search Committee
April 3, 2011
The Pastoral Search Committee members were commisioned during the Worship Service. They are Laurie Power (Chair), Jenny Allen, Jim Brown, Laurie Swanson-Gribskov, Peter Cadigan, Ranfis Villatoro, Lisa Ponder, Martha Pitts, and John Soper. Our church Moderator, Mary Nyquist Koons, will be a non-voting member of the committee, representing the Church Board.
The new committee met immediately after worship with our Conference Minister, Walter John Boris, to hear his comments and thoughts about the search process, and to answer any questions about the role of the Conference in that process.
March 29, 2011
The Church Board approves a list of nominees for the Pastoral Search Committee.
February 22, 2011
The Church Board has appointed a nominating committee, who is seeking applicatants to serve on a 7-9 member Search Committee. Applications are available in the Church office, and are due by Friday, March 18th.
February 20, 2011
The search for a new minister has begun with the church board studying succession plans. The UCC has clear guides for us, and several models of transition were presented for study by the Board.
FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
January 31, 2011
Congregational Meeting
Our Moderator, Mary Nyquist Koons, clarified several items concerning the Call:
- Greg retires in 2012, not 2011.
- Melanie and Janet are called by the congregation – the call of a new senior minister does not affect their call.
- In small churches the pastor often leaves the area when a new minister takes over. This is not our plan – Greg and Susan may stay as members of the congregation