Ministerial Search Committee
In February 2019, our congregation selected seven people to serve on the ministerial search committee and guide the congregation through the process of finding a new minister. Our members are Susan Carlton (chair), Emily Eckwahl-Sanna, Tom Hempfling, Sandy McNabb, Steve Serikaku, Jordan Strueber, and Alice Swan. Learn more about us here. We’ll update this page regularly with new information as we move through the search process.
You can contact us with any questions or comments at: ministerialSearchCommittee@ucevanston.org
Virtual Candidating Week
With the call of a settled senior minister, UCE is embarking on the next phase of our ministry. From now until the congregational meeting and vote on January 24, we encourage you to reflect on the expectations you have of our senior minister. If the congregation calls Rev. Eileen, what actions do we take to support her ministry and continue, with her guidance, to create the Beloved Community?
To provide opportunities for us to reflect and discuss together how we move forward in our shared ministry, the Search Committee is hosting a virtual Candidating Week with meetings starting January 13. We encourage all members of the congregation to participate in one or more of the meetings below.
In addition, there will be three open forum meeting dates:
In preparation for attending one or more of these meetings Rev. Eileen has asked that we reflect on and come prepared to discuss the following question:
What do we (meaning each of us and all of us together) bring to the shared ministry and mission of UCE moving forward?
Here is a definition of shared ministry and some thoughts about how it plays out in a congregation: Shared ministry is commitment to fulfill the mission of UCE as a mutually accountable partnership. Shared ministry lives out the affirmation that all people are called to ministry. As members of a faith community, we are invited to serve together in a spirit of mutuality as partners. Working cooperatively, we strive to discover, develop, utilize, and support the gifts of each person and, as responsible stewards, to participate in the ongoing creative and restoring activity in our communities and the world.
This text, found on the UU Community Church of Washington County website, with a minimum of change has been borrowed from Sharing the Ministry: A Practical Guide for Transforming Volunteers into Ministers by Jean Morris Trumbauer, 1995.
Zoom links are provided, along with other additional information, so please check this page frequently for the most updated schedule.
If you have questions about Candidating Week, please reach out to the Ministerial Search Committee at ministerialsearchcommittee@ucevanston.org
News and Updates from MSC
MSC Update: August 21, 2020
This fall the Ministerial Search Committee will be reaching out to the congregation to gather your input regarding the skills, characteristics and experience needed in our next settled minister. Your participation is critical to a successful search. Below is a list of three different ways we’ll be obtaining feedback and the schedule for these events. Please complete the survey and plan to attend a Cottage Meeting. In addition, contact Susan Carlton, Chair of the search committee with any questions or feedback (susan.carlton@sbcglobal.net). Congregational Survey – The survey will be distributed beginning Friday, August 28th and [...]
From MSC: May 29, 2020
From the Ministerial Search Committee… Over this past year, the Ministerial Search Committee took a step back from the search process in order to present a candidate for settled minister to the congregation in the spring of 2021. By doing so, our goal was to allow space for the congregation to engage in the interim tasks, which are critical to preparing for a new settled ministry. In 2019–2020, we focused on supporting the interim work; someone from the Search Committee attended every activity planned by Rev. Karen G. We will be using the information obtained from these workshops [...]
Message from the BOT and the Ministerial Search Committee – Nov 8
Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Town Hall meeting on Sunday, October 20th. After the Board of Trustees, the Search Committee, and Reverend Eileen gave short presentations about our interim, we received comments and questions from the congregation about extending the Interim/Search for one more year. In case you were unable to attend that meeting, here are some of the questions that were asked that day and some of the answers provided by Susan Carlton, the Chair of the Search Committee: What is the process that a Search Committee goes through? A Search Committee is generally [...]
The Ministerial Search Timeline
Here are the activities that comprise the search committee’s discernment process. Please note that we have slowed down our timeline a bit to allow our new Interim Minister time to assess what interim work remains to be undertaken. We’ll coordinate rolling out the survey and scheduling focus groups and cottage meetings in collaboration with interim activities. Stage 1: Preparing for discernment It might not seem like much is happening during this first stage, but we are spending time setting a strong foundation for the congregation-wide work that comes next. Some of our most pressing tasks include: outlining and [...]
Why you should attend Beyond Categorical Thinking
This workshop, which will take place on October 13, is an important part of the ministerial and interim search. Close your eyes and picture your ideal minister. Someone you trust to hear and understand your concerns and support the spiritual life of the congregation. What does that person look like? We all wonder about who the next minister be: Will they hear me? Will my concerns and needs be met? Will the minister understand what I’m living with? How will the community respond to the new minister? In thinking of the answers to these questions, we tend to [...]
