Ministerial Plan Forward
From Janelle Brittain
UCE Board President
Rev. Bret’s sharing with us about his moving into a new role as a Chaplain in the Air Force has brought us a variety of responses. We are pleased that he’ll be able to share his unique and valuable ministerial support to people of many faiths at challenging times in their lives. We may feel sad that we are losing our wonderful minister who has touched our hearts, inspired our minds, challenged us to action and led the way on social change. As we look toward his last Sunday on May 6th, you may be asking, what happens after that?
Your Board of Trustees have been busy working with Rev. Bret, Rev. Eileen, and our regional and national specialists in ministerial transitions. We have decided to go forward with an Interim Minister. We are at a good time in that March/April is the application and matching time for Interim Ministers. We will know by mid-May who our Interim Minister will be and they would start on August 1st.
In the meantime, Rev. Eileen has agreed to cover through the rest of May and the first part of June. Then she’ll go to General Assembly and take her vacation. During that time, we’ll have a Summer Minister who will be someone Rev’s Bret & Eileen will choose, since they know our church so well and who is available who would be a good match for the Summer. So, as they say, “We gotcha covered!”
FAQ’s
A couple of commonly asked questions are:
Couldn’t Rev. Eileen just step into the Senior or even Interim Minister position?
The quick answer is no. The Ministerial Fellowship Committee will require Eileen to eventually serve another congregation in order to achieve Final Fellowship. She will definitely be with us at UCE at least through the next year (2018-2019).
Couldn’t we just do the “Evanston Model” approach we used last time we were in between ministers?
Even though we enjoyed all of the great ministers who each came for 2 Sundays + one workshop, it took a major toll on the church at a staff level, on support for our programs and did not set up the next minister well. Additionally, Interim Ministers have specific training and accreditation that will be a benefit to us as we move forward.
We have a very strong and healthy church. We are so grateful for how Rev. Bret has brought us together, lifted us up and helped to lead us to have the strong foundation we have today. We thank each of you for your participation and leadership as we go forward. After all, the church is made up of the congregation…YOU!