Ministerial Transitions

Serving with Grace Lay Leadership as a Spiritual Practice

By Erik Walker Wikstrom

From Skinner House Books

Discover how to experience congregational work as an integrated element in a fully rounded spiritual life.

Buy This Book

The health and vitality of our congregations depends in part on a good fit between a congregation and their minister. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) helps to connect ministers searching for a position with congregations which want to find a minister.

The UUA offers information and resources to help congregants, ministers, compensation consultants, and regional staff throughout the search process for all types of ministers: assistant, contract, developmental, interim, or settled.

Announcements

UU Transition Ministry Seminar APRIL 22nd – April 26th, 2024

UU Transition Ministry Seminar

Registration is now open for the 2024 Transitional Ministry Seminar! The theme for this year’s seminar is “Making Meaning in a Changing World: Spiritual Practices for Transformation.”

The registration form is available here: https://uua.wufoo.com/forms/m1ptiyz9066nnco/. The deadline to register if you are requesting a scholarship is March 26. The general deadline to register is April 9. Here is the registration link:

The Transition Ministry Seminar is of particular interest to UU ministers in transitional roles such as Interim and Developmental, and registration is open to any Fellowshipped member of the UUMA. The Transition Ministry Seminar is a collaborative effort of the leadership team of the Transition Ministers Chapter of the UUMA and the Transition Team staff of the UUA.

This year’s seminar will be online with an in-person retreat option at the Mount Olivet Retreat Center in Farmington, Minnesota:https://mtolivetretreat.org/.

Please let the planning team know if you would like to offer a spiritual practice small group!

Additional information about logistics will be forthcoming. Please register as soon as you can, as some of this information will be sent directly to those who have registered.

We look forward to reconnecting with you throughout these weeks of registration and preparation for the seminar. Please share this information widely with UUMA colleagues who may be interested. If you have any questions, please emailtransitions@uua.org orjosephmcherry@gmail.com.

Questions About Materials or the Search Process

Please include your full name, your congregation’s full name (no acronyms), city, and state in all correspondence with the UUA Transitions Office and regional staff.

  • Transitions Office: Rev. Keith Kron, Director; Amy Szen, Administrator; Rev. Patrice Curtis, Transformational Interim Ministries Director; and Christine Purcell, Transitions Program Manager (transitions@uua.org)
  • Congregational Life field staff support, all regions: Christine Purcell, Transitions Program Manager (cpurcell@uua.org)

Congregational Leaders and Ministers

Regarding All Active and Upcoming Searches

  1. Only use the old settlement system for accessing historical information. The new Ministry Search system is in use!
  2. Congregational leaders, once you have been in touch with regional staff and/or the Transitions Program Manager about the types of ministry search which would be best or are available to your congregation, send an email to transitions@uua.org to initiate your search. Include your congregation’s full name, city, and state, and the name and email for your contact person.
  3. To view opportunity listings for ministers, religious educators, musicians, and other congregational staff, please visit the MinistrySearch Jobs Board. To post a position on the jobs board for non-ordained staff, use the Job Board Listing Request form.
  4. Congregations seeking or offering staff for collaboration may also post to the Congregational Collaboration Board.

These documents are essential reading for both lay leaders and ministers:

Congregational Leaders

Resources here are of particular use to lay leaders shepherding their congregation through the ministerial transition.

Ministers

These resources are useful for ministers in the midst of or considering a transition.

Archived Resources