Update on the Search for our Next Minister

Update on the Search for our Next Minister

Our beloved minister, Carmen Emerson is leaving our congregation in April.  Our Board has decided that our next minister will be a Developmental Minister.  A task force has been appointed to recommend the most appropriate candidate. We are working together with the UUA to find candidates and are hopeful to identify 1-2 interested ministers to interview this spring.  We see this as an exciting time of change and possibility!

What is Developmental Ministry? The purpose of a Developmental Minister is to prepare our congregation for its next settled minister by addressing specific goals set by the board.  

Why Developmental Ministry?  GNUUC chose developmental ministry so that our next minister—in addition to preaching, caring for the congregation, administration—will also bring specific experience and skills to support our goals over a focused period of time.  At the end of that minister's term, we will have new choices to make. We will have done the work necessary to build a solid foundation for the next settled minister and have a clear vision for what our future holds.   

What are our goals for Developmental Ministry at GNUUC? These are the goals that the Developmental Minister and the congregation will be working toward:

We will further develop respect and trust in our congregational leadership and ministry.

We will develop skills to manage dissent and conflict in our congregation.  This will include holding healthy and appropriate boundaries.

We will reconnect with the UUA to make use of UUA resources and nurture our UU identity.

So, what exactly is the process? We've appointed a Search Task Force to represent GNUUC to prospective candidates and keep the congregation informed.  The Search Task Force is currently seeking candidates in collaboration with the Regional UUA Staff. Once the search committee has interviewed and selected a candidate to recommend, the board will make an offer.

A developmental minister, hired by the board, will facilitate growth towards our goals, typically over a 3 to 5 year period, working in close collaboration with the congregation, with oversight by the board.  This is work we do together.

Please take a few minutes to complete the online Congregational Survey by April 12.  

Thank you for taking the time to share your feelings and perspectives at this time of transition.  We want to stay in tune with how the congregation is feeling, and do our best to represent our whole congregation throughout this search.

Questions?  Please contact a member of the Search Task Force:

Eddie Bailey, Thena Berry,

Amy Dudley, Denise Graves,

Doug Luckes, Mike Morgan,

and Jack Yeager.