The search for a settled minister for UNMC is in high gear. The Search Committee has received more than 25 applications or expressions of interest from a diverse group of applicants, both through the UUA settlement process and via direct contacts. From this group, the committee has identified roughly eight individuals who look particularly promising. Each of them has been sent a packet describing our church and community; we drew on many of the points that emerged from the surveys and other consultations in describing our congregation and its hopes for the future.
Several important steps lie ahead, and our time frame is tight. The Search Committee is now in the process of conducting telephone interviews with each of the eight applicants. These allow time for in-depth discussion of key questions, as well as the opportunity for the interested ministers to pose their questions to the committee. Three finalists will be selected, each of whom will be invited to visit Washington for a pre-candidating weekend, during which time the Search Committee hears them preach and holds in-depth discussions, answering questions for each other and getting to know each other better. Our plan is to have these visits completed by mid-March.
Following visits from the three finalists, the Search Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees to invite an individual to come to UNMC as a candidate for settled minister. A series of opportunities will be arranged, probably in a late March-early April time frame, during which our members and friends can get to know the candidate, hear two sermons and otherwise have an opportunity to arrive at their own conclusions concerning this most important decision for our community.
Following the second Sunday service with our candidate, the congregation would meet to discuss and decide whether to call the individual as our settled minister. If the call is made and accepted, the settled ministry would begin in August, 2006.
Please feel free to contact any of us with your questions or comments: Rob Bertram, Liz Crawford (Chair), Clint McCully and Donna Simonton.
Posted by Mark McNabb at February 1, 2006 04:56 PM