Ministerial Transition & Search
THE SEARCH IS ON!
At Neighborhood’s 2022 Annual Meeting in May, the Congregation elected a wonderful slate of seven church members as their Senior Minister Search Committee. The slate represents 162 years of membership, an expansive array of lay-leadership experience, an assortment of personal and professional skills, and a diversity of identities. All of which will represent the congregation well and go along way to bringing Neighborhood a terrific Senior Minister candidate.
The Search Committee is already deep into their work, kicking it all off with a facilitated planning retreat in July. The Committee encourages everyone to take the Search Survey, attend Cottage Meetings, and participate in other opportunities to assist them in the search process. “This input allows us to understand who we are and where we’re going, so we can identify the ministerial candidate that best meets Neighborhood’s wants and needs now and into the future”. Thank you for everyone’s help and participation during this exciting time in the life of Neighborhood Church!
Your Search Committee,
Mary Fauvre Holmes, Ben Lopez, Sarah Marcotte,
Lynn Miyamoto, Louisa Villeneuve, Paul Wallace, Margaret Wilcox
Sr. Minister Search Process & Timeline
The Search Committee will be following a process consistent with the UUA Transitions Office. Below is a timeline to illustrate where the Committee should be in the process at any given time of our 2022-2023 church year. Additional Search and Interim related information and documentation is provided further down this page.
Click HERE to download the above timeline as a file, and view text larger.
Welcome to Neighborhood’s Ministerial Transition & Search webpage. This page is intended to help the congregation stay abreast of the process Neighborhood is following in the interim period between the departure of Sr. Minister Rev. Lissa Gundlach and the search and call of a new Sr. Minister. It is also provided as a place to document the results of the hard work of reflection and discernment the congregation is undertaking in this process. We hope you find this webpage helpful and encourage you to reach out to any of us with your thoughts and questions along the way.
Your Transition Team,
Corinne Grant, Frank Colcord, Ferol Mennen,
Kim Hayden, Eugene Hutchins, & Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley
From the Desk of Rev. Dr. Cooley
It is a privilege and a pleasure to partner with Neighborhood Church as we go through this transition time together. I often find these particularly poignant and revelatory times, as a congregation takes the time to reflect upon its past and dream about its future. A transition time is about far more than preparing for the next minister. It provides an opportunity for the members of the congregation to recognize that a congregation’s identity is formed by its people, not just its leadership. By engaging in healing conversations, acknowledging past successes as well as mistakes, and articulating dreams for the future, relationships can be strengthened and a sense of stewardship, in the largest sense of the word, can be revived.
While this interim time began under unusual circumstances (there is no manual for doing interim ministry in a pandemic!) we have still been able to set the foundation for the important interim work to come in the next two years.
This is a strong congregation with excellent lay leadership, and even having gone through some rocky years recently, I have no doubt that you will emerge stronger than before. I invite you to participate in the important processes of this transition time. All voices are important as we move forward together.
Rev. Dr. Terasa G. Cooley
Interim Senior Minister
Interim/Search Tasks & Timeline
The interim period between settled Sr. Ministers is a time of reflection, healing, growth and discernment for a congregation. With the assistance of Rev. Dr. Cooley, Neighborhood members will follow these steps as we move through this important time in our congregational history.
Claim and honor Neighborhood’s past and heal our griefs and conflicts
- Neighborhood will study who we have been and what we have done, and acknowledge our differences and conflicts.
Illuminate Neighborhood’s unique identity, our strengths, our needs, our challenges
- Neighborhood will describe ourselves to ourselves fully and fairly. In describing what we are good at and where we need help, we will get clues about preferred qualities in our next called minister.
Clarify the multiple dimensions of Neighborhood’s leadership, both ordained and lay, and navigate the shifts in leadership that accompany times of transition
- We will evaluate the effectiveness of our organizational structure, the ways in which we fill lay leadership positions, and the relationship between ordained and lay leadership.
Renew Neighborhood’s connections with available resources, within and beyond the UUA
- We will seek out curricula, counsel, and other resources that will strengthen our congregation now and in the future.
Renew Neighborhood’s vision, strengthen our stewardship, prepare for new professional leadership, and engage our future with anticipation and zest.
Interim/Search Report & Resources
This table provides a chronological list of interim-related reports or other documentation of this work.
| Date | Milestone | Link to Report |
| Dec 2020 |
| |
| Feb 2021 |
| |
| May 2021 |
| |
| Dec 2021 |
| (Selection Process) |
Jan 2022 |
|
Apr 2022 |
| (in-person @ NUUC) |
May 2022 |
| |
Aug 2022 |
| |
Sep 2022 |
| |
Feb 2023 |
|
The Board of Trustees and Transition Team have benefitted from the resources listed below as well as the personal guidance and leadership of our Interim Minister, Rev. Dr. Cooley, and consultants from the UUA, including the Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh (UUA’s Regional Congregational Life Representative) and Christine Purcell (UUA Transitions Program Manager).
NUUC Resources:
- NUUC Reference for Selecting Ministerial Search Committee
- Congregational Assessment Prior to Ministerial Transition (Oct 2013)
- Congregational Survey – Sr. Minister Search (Mar 2014)
- Congregational Survey (Dec 2019)
- NUUC Virtual Engagement Survey (Mar 2021)
Sermons from Rev. Terasa about transition
- Who is Forgiveness For 1-9-22
- History – the Whole of It 11-14-21
- Together Again 3-7-21
- Cycles of Growth and Change 12-6-20
- We Agree to Differ 11-15-20
- Conflict, Covenant and Community 9-28-20
- Our Paths Converge 7-19-20
UUA Resources: