Contract-to-Call Process
Spring 2016
Below you will find all the communications shared with the congregation regarding the Contract-to-Call process. If you have questions about this information, you may either contact our church office, uucgv.amado@gmail.com, or use the Membership Directory to write to the relevant leaders.
Contract-to-Call Team
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February 21, 2016To Call a Minister
We, as a congregation, have worked hard to reach consideration of calling a minister. A settled minister can provide continuity in leadership for all four of our ministries - our spiritual sustenance; pastoral care; connection with communities of which we are, or could be, a part; and our longer term well being as an institution. Rev. Dr. Ken Brown, our consultant from the Pacific Southwest District, will deliver a sermon on Sunday, March 6, concerning the value and meaning of calling a settled minister. You either have received, or will be receiving, an invitation from your Caring Cluster leader to a circle gathering during the month of March. A member of the Contract to Call Task Force (The Call Team) will lead you through a process designed to help us discern the will of the congregation with respect to offering a call. This is an important step for us, one that brings forth memories of our past and visions for our future. You can participate with your questions, thoughts and feelings in multiple ways. Choose any or all of the means that would be comfortable for you. A member of the Contact to Call Team will meet with each of the cluster groups during March. We also invite you to communicate individually with any member of the Call Team by email, phone, or in person. (click here for the Member Directory) A Call Box will be available at the sign-up table each Sunday and in the office the rest of the week, where you can tell us your enthusiasm, concerns, or questions. We look forward to hearing from you. The Call Team February 15, 2016Dear Members of UUCGV in Amado,
We as a congregation have reached a joyous and challenging point in our history – an opportunity to realistically consider calling a settled full-time minister. The expiration of the Rev. Matthew Funke Crary’s three-year developmental ministry contract August 1, 2016 makes this an opportune time to think about taking this next step. Indeed Rev. Matthew has been instrumental in our reaching this place, for which we all should be grateful. We believe there are two questions to pursue: Do we have the communal will and resources to call a minister? And, if so, whom should we call? The answers ultimately are up to all of us. The fundamental importance of these decisions is reflected in our bylaws. To call a minister requires at least 80 percent of the members voting and approval by 90 percent of those voting. In other words, it takes near unanimity. It is our expectation that the congregation will vote at our April 24 annual meeting. To work toward congregational action, the Board has appointed us to a Contract to Call committee. We are well aware that this process can generate anxiety and confusion as well as hopefulness and enthusiasm. To help in that regard, we are committed to keeping you informed as we proceed, to being available to answer questions, and to seeking your opinions and suggestions. Following procedures recommended by the UUA, the Rev. Kenneth Brown, our Regional Consultant, will deliver a sermon on March 6 to set the stage for conversations, including small group meetings, which we hope will measure the degree of enthusiasm for moving ahead. As to one obvious question, Rev. Matthew could be called to be our settled full-time minister if both he and the congregation mutually desire that. We look forward to your thoughts, concerns and dreams for the future of our congregation. We hope you are as excited as we are as we begin this process. With your help we can build on the successes of the past and create an active, welcoming, and spiritually fulfilling community. The Call Team |
Board of Directors
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December 18, 2015Dear Members and Friends of UUCGV in Amado,
The UUCGV Board of Directors wishes to share very important information with you in regards to our next steps in our ministry now that results of the Developmental Ministry Assessment have been published and are available on our website www.uucamado.org. First of all, a very big thank you once again to the Developmental Ministry Assessment Team (“The A Team”: Diane Farone - chairperson, Loretta Carmickle, Pat Greenig, Ernie Lopez and Paul Taylor.) This Team worked long hours with a charge from the Board to create, invite, implement and bring results of an assessment of this ministry - Developmental Minister Plus Developmental Congregation Equals Developmental Ministry. Each month they presented to the Board a report. Through this assessment we have learned from the congregation how we are doing with the five goals set forth at the beginning of this developmental ministry the summer of 2013. The results of small group discussions and written surveys have given The Board information that will aide us to begin what we refer to as The Contract to Call Process. In addition the economic feasibility of calling a full-time Minister has to be determined. The Board has researched and found a very informative process from Unitarian Universalist Association entitled Contract to Call Process. This process, in booklet form, will support us with what happens next. As you know, in six months we are coming to the end of our Three Year Developmental Ministry and Rev. Matthew Funke Crary’s contract. Through The Contract to Call process the Board of Directors has taken the first step which is to ask our current developmental ministry contracted minister, The Rev. Matthew Funke Crary, if he is interested in entertaining a call as our settled minister. Rev. Matthew has said he is interested in entertaining a call. This is the first question lay leaders ask in this process. As you read through The Contract to Call process you will see there are many steps before the Congregational vote is held. If you do not have time to read the entire The Contract to Call Process Booklet, here is a summary of what will become the basis of the Charge to the Call Process Task Force. "According to UUA's (Unitarian Universalist Association’s) 'Contract to Call Process', once a contracted minister expresses interest in being called, the Board should appoint a Call Process Task Force to lead the membership in considering the question of a call. The Task Force is to design and lead a decision-making process and, upon it's conclusion, recommend a course of action to the congregation. The Task Force first educates itself regarding contract and called ministry then develops a process and timeline, which they share with the minister, the Board and the congregation at an informational meeting. The Unitarian Universalist Association recommends that an integral element of the process be confidential small group meetings to assess the ministry of the congregation. The results of the meetings are summarized into a report to the congregation. A separate congregational meeting will be held to vote on calling or not calling the minister. The Transitions Office of UUA recommends that, for an incumbent minister, an affirmative vote of 85-90% is considered adequate." If you are interested in being considered for appointment to The Call Process Task Force, please contact Ann Rangos, president (click here for Membership Directory). With Deep Gratitude for your commitment and support, Your Board of Directors for Fiscal Year 2015-16 |