Process of Searching for a Called Pastor

The Intentional Interim Pastor

After Hope’s called pastor resigned in August 2007, Hope United Church of Christ called Reverend Dr. Sidney Fowler, in December 2007, to serve as intentional interim pastor.

The United Church of Christ believes it is wise for a congregation to take a period of time between called pastors. “There comes a time in every church’s life when it needs a trained interim pastor. The transitional minister slows down the pace and facilitates healing and regrouping before a new phase of church life begins with a new pastor,” from an article by Carol L. Pavlik.

Instead of proceeding directly with a search for a new pastor, Hope took the time to reflect on where the congregation has been, consider possibilities for where Hope might go in the future, and strengthen connections to the wider UCC denomination. Hope Church is very fortunate to have Sid with us during this time.

A Year of Hope-Full Discernment

Hope Church spent the year of 2008 in self-examination and discernment. Hope examined its identity as a congregation and worked to discern what God is calling Hope Church to do. The Discernment Committee, under the leadership of Mr. Patrick Jackson and with the spiritual guidance of Rev. Fowler, gathered information on the desires and hopes that members and friends of Hope Church have for the community’s future, through a series of Holy Conversations.

A Statement of Vision emerged from the discernment process. We want to be a place of HOPE!

Hospitality
Open to questions
Passionate about the journey
Engaged in service to the world

Hospitality - A church of extravagant welcome. A refuge and home to those typically excluded from Christian community

Open to questions - A church community that does not claim to have all the answers, but where we support each other in exploring faith and wrestling with God.

Passionate about the journey - A church where the Spirit of God is deeply felt and the community is inspired and energized to follow God’s call wherever it leads.

Engaged in service to the world - A church community that ministers to others in Jesus’ name, seeking to live fully into God’s vision of a world of justice, abundance, and love.

The five summary statements are:

1. Open to all who God may send our way, we will, however, focus our ministry on progressive people of faith, seekers, and exiles. These include people who no longer feel at home in their Christian traditions, but who can be embraced and empowered at Hope. We want to attract such people and invite them to share their faith journey as we share ours-together God will do God’s work of hope among us.
2. We desire to explore how we might use our space and land differently so as to help us realize our vision, not have our vision for the future be limited by our physical space. We seek to be in conversation with our immediate neighbors about how this might impact them and we might be better neighbors.
3. We desire to continue to provide vital and blended worship experiences: blending styles and traditions; head and heart/emotions; informality, creativity, and critical elements; spontaneity and careful planning; sensitivity to both the community gathered and to the broader work of God’s realm. We desire that our worship continues to be spiritual, nurturing intimacy between God and one another. The full participation of laity, including children, in all aspects of worship is as basic as that of clergy.
4. We desire to do more hands-on social justice. We want to be engaged personally in ministry in our community, not just via financial contributions. At the same time, we celebrate our mission giving to the wider church and justice advocacy with the United Church of Christ.
5. We desire to continue to be a place of Christian transformation and hope, a place where people who once felt excluded and hopeless come to feel included and hopeful.

The Cabinet and Ministry Teams continue to discuss the report from the Discernment Committee. Each Ministry Team is focusing on how their particular team can contribute to Hope realizing this vision. The cabinet is devoting four full cabinet meetings to discussing the summary statements and envisioning Hope’s future.

The Pastoral Search Committee

The Cabinet recruited and named the members and alternates for the Pastoral Search Committee in fall 2008. The PSC conducted a demographic survey of the congregation and began working on a Congregation Profile, which is used to convey to pastor candidates information about who Hope Church is, what Hope is about, and how the Hope community envisions the church going into the future.  The profile was completed in August, 2009, and in September we listed the vacancy in UCC Employment Opportunities.

Interested candidates will submit resumes and references and will be screened by the UCC Conference office to assure that pastoral candidates are qualified and in good standing. Qualified candidate resumes will be forwarded to the search committee, which will select the candidates who best meet the needs of Hope Church. After correspondence, interviews, and discreet observations of preaching style, the PSC will select one person to present to the Congregation for approval. Upon approval, a call will be extended and a contract will be negotiated with the new pastor.

This process is a time-tested method that has been used within the United Church of Christ for many decades. The steps and procedures of pastoral selection are well documented and the PSC is utilizing the resources of the denomination and conference to assure that the process of selection is one of integrity and is thoughtfully and prayerfully conducted. It is Hope Church’s goal to have a new called pastor by September 2010.
For more information on the Pastoral Search Committee, contact committee chair Kathy Doxsee.