MinistrySearch Website
Manage your congregational record, review ministerial records of applicants, and indicate interest in potential ministers.
To initiate a search profile, email the Congregational Transitions Director, Christine Purcell cpurcell@uua.org to provide the name and email address of at least one search team member. The UUA transitions team will open a search profile for your search team in our MinistrySearch system once that information is received. Only search team members added to the profile will have access to the profile.
The initial contact to whom UUA staff grant system access may add other interim search team members.
If your team wants access to your information from a previous search, you may request your congregation’s old record sheet(s) by sending an email to transitions@uua.org.
Using the MinistrySearch System
As you prepare for search, you will create or update your congregational record (CR, also known as a search profile) in the MinistrySearch system. You will post that record for potential ministers to read, and indicate their interest in our position.
Please click on the “Stay informed” button in your ministerial record to receive updates on kinds of search in each search cycle. You may also sign up for the UUA Transitions Team newsletter to receive general search updates.
Review the Search Covenant
Covenant for Ministerial Search Processes
All searching congregations, searching ministers, and those who assist congregations and ministers in the search process covenant with one another for a fair and responsible search process.
Inside Candidates
Per Ministerial Fellowship Committee rules, UUA Transitions Team policy, and ministers’ covenant with one another for a fair search process, if you have an inside candidate for your position, your search team must make an up or down decision on this candidate before publishing the search profile for the review of potential external applicants.
An inside candidate is someone on staff in or affiliated with the congregation or, in the case of full-time ministry searches, someone who has visited the congregation in a professional capacity since the need for a ministry search was announced. See the section on Eligibility for Ministers in Search for more information.
Upon Completion of the Congregational Record
Once the profile is complete, your team should click “complete record” and then “publish.” Doing so will push your changes to a version of the document which can be previewed by regional staff. Please let your primary contact on regional staff know that your profile is ready for review.
Your primary contact (or the Congregational Transitions Director) will review your profile for clarity, consistency, and a balanced view of your congregation’s unique strengths and challenges. They may offer feedback or request changes before the Congregational Transitions Director posts it. (The timing depends on the type of ministry.)
After Posting of the Congregational Record
Once the search profile is posted, ministers will apply to the search team through the MinistrySearch System. Search team members will receive emails from the system to let them know when they have applicants. They will be able to see applicants’ full ministerial records in the system.
The search team should plan to gratefully acknowledge each application with a brief email with a link to the supplemental documents in the search packet.
Ministers Outside of the MinistrySearch System
If a UU minister reaches out to you about your position and seems unwilling to use the MinistrySearch system, please contact your regional staff or the UUA Transitions Team to determine if the minister is eligible to serve.
We also offer guidance on non-UU ministers.