Ministerial Search Committee
Dear Friends:
As the UUA’s Transitions Office puts it:
No choice is more important to the future of a Unitarian Universalist congregation than its call of a minister. A thorough, uncorrupted, and mutually respectful search process is the essential first step in the hoped-for partnership of lay and ordained leaders. For both minister and congregation, the process is strenuous, exciting, and informative. It can also be frustrating and discouraging. But generations of lay leaders and ministers testify that such a process, followed well, richly repays the time and effort it requires.
UUA Settlement Handbook Having hired Orlanda Brugnola as Interim Minister and arranging to have the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop at the Fellowship on January 22, our transition towards calling a new minister in 2013 already is underway. But as described in our January Newsletter, the next and crucial step in the process is selecting a Ministerial Search Committee. The following job description link outlines the expectations and qualifications for members of the Search Committee: Ministerial Search Committee Description. Anyone interested also needs to be familiar with the description of the search process found in the UUA Settlement Handbook and in the UUA Resource Guide for Ministerial Search Committees
The Board of Trustees has formed a task force to oversee the process of selecting the members of the Search Committee. The task force members - Gerry Peet, Teri Lukin, Janet Englund, Daria Gregg, Pete Connolly and Rob Malionek - discussed this process in depth at the Mid-Year Meeting on January 8, and will make themselves available for questions and to help get the word out about the process.
Generally, the process for selecting the members of the Search Committee will be as follows:
1. Interested members of the Fellowship should review the job description and the materials referenced above, and make sure they understand the commitment required to serve on the Search Committee.
2. The task force will accept applications until February 5, 2012 from members who wish to become candidates for the Search Committee. Click on Application. Please include a picture of yourself with your application. You can submit your application by leaving it in Rob Malionek’s mailbox or e-mailing it to robert.malionek@lw.com.
3. The task force will review the applications to ensure that they are in order, and speak with potential candidates.
4. The names of all candidates will be published to the Fellowship, and the candidates’ applications will be made available. Members of the congregation will be encouraged to get to know any candidates with whom they are not familiar.
5. In late February/early March 2012, the task force will hold an election open to all members of the Fellowship. The seven candidates with the most votes will be elected to serve on the Search Committee. (Caveat: This number may change, depending on the number of candidates.)
We hope that the entire Fellowship will take an active interest in the election of the Search Committee. As the Settlement Handbook explains, the Search Committee members will invest hundreds of hours in their task, working together as a group on behalf of the entire Fellowship, “so they can make the best choice not for themselves as individuals but for all. No wonder search committee members often become lifelong friends!”
Robert J. Malionek
