Arrival
Most ministers arrive in the area before their start date to settle in a bit, if possible. After the official start date, the minister starts to focus on fostering relationships and building trust, the cornerstones of a successful ministry.
Getting to Know You: the First Few Weeks
Ministers often don’t start leading services (i.e. preaching) in August, their first month. This gives them time to begin to know and work the staff, meet with board members and other leaders, begin to familiarize themselves with pastoral care needs, and learn more about the congregation. They can concentrate on planning for the beginning of the “church year” with the various teams, so everyone can have a good start.
This is a time of story-telling, and new ministers are encouraged to find out the history behind practices and expectations. Congregants and staff can remind each other that the new minister is new and different from other ministers and not everything will happen in the same way. This is a time for curiosity and kindness.
Embarking on a path of deepening trust-building and relationships is crucial to a fruitful ministry.
Covenants
The new minister should become familiar with the current covenants of the congregation (members/staff) and will enter into covenant with the congregation, its leaders, and staff. The covenanting process may be a refresher for the congregation, or it may be a time of co-creation. The Start-Up (see below) can help facilitate the covenanting process.
The Ministerial Start-Up
Early in the ministry, the board chair and minister should reach out to the congregation’s regional staff about what resources and assistance are available and recommended for the start of the ministry. Start-up programming introduces the minister to the culture of the congregation and the congregation to the minister in ways which would almost certainly not happen naturally and promptly without this programming. Parts of the start-up are for the whole congregation; others are for the minister, staff, and leaders to align, strategize about the new shared ministry partnership, and set goals for their first year together.
Why Start-Ups Are Useful for Your Congregation
Ministerial start ups are typically offered in the first year of a new minister’s ministry or for the start of a new staff member like DREs. The workshop may involve an array of lay leaders & congregants, including past & present members of the Board, Committee on Ministry, search committee, others.
Ministers from Marginalized Identity Groups
Congregations with new ministers from marginalized identity groups may reach out for assistance form the UUA in creating a spirit of welcome and belonging. Ministers with marginalized identities should ask the UUA for what they need as they begin their new ministries.
Inside Candidates
If the minister was an inside candidate and moved to being the senior minister, the congregation should take care to understand the minister to be in a new role with new responsibilities. This can be hard for some congregants used to interacting with the minister in their previous role.
The Installation
Ordination and Installation HandbookFor Unitarian Universalist Clergy & Congregations
An installation service formally celebrates the covenantal relationship between a minister and the congregation that has called the minister. Often, though not always, an Installation service occurs within the first year of a settlement between a minister and a congregation to which they are called.