Ministerial Fellowship Committee Rules and Policies
Complete
MFC Rules (PDF, 39 pages)
(current as of January 2008)
Notable Changes
Rule 13. Preliminary Fellowship
When the Committee determines that the candidate is qualified to pursue Ministerial Fellowship, the Committee shall grant the candidate Preliminary Fellowship status.
A. RENEWAL OF FELLOWSHIP
A person in Preliminary Fellowship shall be reviewed approximately every year from the date of hire or call. To be eligible for review, the minister must be engaged in compensated ministerial activities which constitute fifty-percent or more of a typical work schedule. This requirement may, at the Committee's discretion, be waived when it determines that the ministerial service is substantial enough to warrant eligibility for review.
B. RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS
Each renewal review must include the following:
- A self-evaluation
- An evaluation completed by one’s supervisor or supervising committee (i.e. Board of Trustees, supervising minister, supervisor, etc. In ministries where one does not have a supervisor, a supervisory committee or relationship must be established for the purpose of evaluation.)
- An evaluation from one’s Committee on Ministry. For community-based ministers, all Committees on Ministry must include members of a congregation and appropriate representation from the institution or agency being served by the minister. If the minister is not employed by an institution or agency, then composition of the Committee on Ministry must be approved by the Ministerial Development Director.
- A professional development plan
- A form completed by the minister’s mentor confirming that the minister is in a mentoring relationship.
- A letter from a congregation stating that the minister has affiliated with that congregation (community ministers only.)
Following any review, Preliminary Fellowship may be renewed, continued in present status, terminated or a determination made to move the candidate to Final Fellowship.
C. RENEWAL PERIOD
No person in Preliminary Fellowship shall remain in any one renewal period for more than three years without a waiver from the Committee.
Rule 14. Inactive Status
Any minister holding Preliminary Fellowship, who in the judgment of the Committee ceases to work as a minister, shall be moved to Inactive Fellowship Status. The decision of the Committee to move a minister to Inactive Fellowship Status shall not be subject to appeal. A minister may apply to the Committee to be removed from Inactive Fellowship Status.
Ministers in Inactive Fellowship Status and their families will not ordinarily be eligible for financial aid administered through Ministry and Professional Leadership until the needs of ministers in Fellowship have been met.
Every year ministers in Inactive Fellowship Status who wish to retain their Preliminary Fellowship credential must pay a fee of $25 and keep the MFC informed of current contact information. Ministers who fail to respond within 60 days to a letter of inquiry from the Committee or who fail to pay the required fee will be removed from Preliminary Fellowship by a vote of the MFC.
For more information contact mfcassistant @ uua.org.
Last updated on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.
