Neighborhood Ministerial Transition Web Site – Structure & Content:
(NOTE: design below influenced by: https://ucevanston.org/interim-working-report/ )
Ministerial Transition Home Page
- “It is when we are in transition that we are most completely alive.” – William Bridges
- Meet the Interim Sr. Minister – Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley
- Welcome message and link to bio & photo elsewhere on church website
- Meet the Transition Team:
“Welcome to Neighborhood’s Ministerial Transition webpage. This page is intended to provide the congregation with an overview 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 will undertake in this process.
The Board of Trustees and Transition Team have benefitted from the 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).
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:
Frank Colcord (co-chair) frank.colcord@gmail.com
Corinne Grant corinne4849@gmail.com
Kim Hayden kimjhayden@sbcglobal.net
Eugene Hutchins ejhutchins1@yahoo.com
Ferol Mennen (co-chair) mennen@usc.edu
(Photo of Transition Team – from Zoom screen capture)
- What’s available on this website, with navigational links to”
- Page 1: From the Desk of Rev. Dr. Cooley
- Page 2: Interim Tasks, Surveys, and Search Time Line
- Page 3: Interim Working Report
- Page 4: Transition Resources
Page 1: From the Desk of Rev. Dr. Cooley Page
- Articles/communications from Rev. Terasa about transition
- (TBD)
Page 2: Interim Tasks, Timeline & Surveys Page
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.
- We will discern our common understanding of our future and strengthen our care of each other and of our religious community, so that we head into our search for a called minister with a “can do” commitment.
Though the interim transition process is not always linear, the timeline below gives a sense of the flow and timing of Neighborhood’s interim work and Sr. Minister search process.
Below is a list of past and present Congregational Surveys & Assessments, with links to their full reports, that have informed our process:
- Congregational Assessment Prior to Ministerial Transition (Oct 2013) (report)
- Congregational Survey – Sr. Minister Search (Mar 2014) (report)
- Congregational Survey (Dec 2019) (report)
- NUUC Virtual Engagement Survey (Mar 2021) (report)
Page 3: Interim Working Report Page: List of and results of transition-related work completed
This table provides a chronological list of the interim-related work accomplished by Neighborhood’s Members, Interim Minister, Board of Trustees, Staff and Transition Team. Where applicable, links to reports or other documentation drawn from this work are provided.
| Date | Task/Event/Milestone | Report/Documentation |
| Jan 2020 | Rev. Gundlach announces her resignation from NUUC | |
| Feb 2020 | Rev. Sarah Millspaugh (UUA) preaches & leads discussion on transition | |
| Mar 2020 | Interim Minister Search Committee formed | |
| May 2020 | Rev. Dr. Cooley hired as new Interim Minister | |
| Jun 2020 | Rev. Gundlach’s last day as Sr. MinisterRev. Ian Riddell fills pulpit until Interim Minister arrives | |
| Jul 2020 | Ministerial Transition Team formedRev. Dr. Terasa Cooley starts preaching at NUUC | |
| Aug 2020 | Rev. Dr. Cooley’s official start as Interim Minister | |
| Sep 2020 | Church Chats w/Rev. Cooley beginChurch Chats w/Staff-Programs heldChurch Chats w/Staff-Outreach & Music held | |
| Oct 2020 | Congregation/Staff Training w/Rev. Cooley – Conflict TransformationChurch Chats w/Staff-Outreach & Music heldTransition Start-Up workshop (pt. 1) w/Rev. Millspaugh | |
| Dec 2020 | Transition Start-Up workshop (pt. 2) w/Rev. Millspaugh Church Chats w/Trustees (3) on NUUC finances heldNUUC Governance Discussion-Board kicked-off | (Start-Up WS Results) |
| Jan 2021 | Congregation/Staff Training w/Rev. Cooley – Adaptive Leadership | |
| Feb 2021 | Church Chats w/Transition Team (4) on 3-Year Interim heldBoard/Congregation Extends Interim to 3 YearsChurch Chats w/Trustees on NUUC Governance held | 3-Year Interim Report3-Year Interim Slides |
| Mar 2021 | Worship Associates Program Announced | |
| May 2021 | Congregational Townhall to discuss Sr. Minister Search ProcessTransition Team Annual Report | (Townhall Report-Out)(TT Annual Report) |
Page 4: Transition Resources Page
The Board of Trustees, Transition Team and Staff have been guided in their transition work by the following resources:
- NUUC Reference for Selecting Ministerial Search Committee (report)
- UUA Transitions Office https://www.uua.org/offices/staff/mfd/transitions
- The UUA Transitions Office trains and supports ministerial search committees and recommends ministers for their consideration. Transitions also oversees the training and placement of interim ministers.
- ‘UUA Transitional Ministry Handbook’ https://www.uua.org/files/pdf/t/transitional_ministry_handbook.pdf
- UUA’s guide to ministerial transitions
- ‘UUA Settlement Handbook’ https://www.uua.org/careers/ministers/transitions/settlement-handbook
- UUA’s guide to the settled search process
- ‘In the Interim’ https://www.uuabookstore.org/In-the-Interim-P18172.aspx
- Strategies for Interim Ministers and Congregations, Second Edition. A practical and insightful volume providing a road map for a transformative and fulfilling interim period.