These are the important dates and milestones for settled ministry searches, for ministers, search committees, and governing boards.
Download the print-friendly Settled Search Calendar (PDF)
Phase 1: Foundations for a Settled Search
Concluding a Ministry Well
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb-Mar 2025 | Minister announces departure (See Concluding a Ministry Well) | Outgoing minister | Ideal dates for announcement to give congregation time to have a good goodbye |
| Feb-Mar 2025 | Congregation submits Notice of Ministerial Transition | Board | |
| Feb-Mar 2025 | Consultation with Regional Congregational Life Staff/UUA Transitions Team | Board | Reach out to UUA regional staff contact and transitions@uua.org |
| Feb-Aug 2025 | Church website update | Board/ staff and volunteers | Updated to reflect changes; website becomes a source of information for potential ministerial applicants |
| Mar-Aug 2025 | Exit interviews | Board/outgoing minister/ UUA regional staff contact | Board works with UUA regional staff contact to arrange |
| Mar-May 2025 | Interim ministry application and search | Board | |
| 01 August, 2025 | Interim ministry begins | Board, congregation, and interim minister | Some congregations doing developmental or contract ministry may also be doing settled search |
Phase 2: Education and Preparation for Search
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2026 | Board reviews congregational by-laws for alignment with UUA search process | Board | Please consult with Congregational Transitions Director if there is not alignment |
| Feb-April 2026 | Congregational Transitions Director reviews search process with Board | Board, UUA Congregational Transitions Director | Board should schedule a meeting or drop into office hours to review the search process |
| Feb-April 2026 | Review of UUA compensation materials, consultation with Church Staff Finances | Board, person who administers benefits to employees | |
| Spring 2026 | Approve budget for search | Board | Should happen after 2 previous tasks for best results |
| Spring 2026 | Church website review | Board/ staff and volunteers | Updated with the ministry search in mind |
| Apr-June 2026 | Search team selection | Board | nominations, slate, congregational vote/approval |
| By 01 June, 2026 | Sign up for UUA search support | Board | |
| Late June 2026 | Search team reviews Settled Ministry Search Handbook | Search team |
Phase 3: Building the Structure to Search
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring/ Summer 2026 | Search team shares availability for summer retreat programming led by UUA facilitator | Search team, Congregational Transitions Director | Search team sends availability to cpurcell@uua.org |
| 06 June, 2026 | UUA Transitions Team hosts overview of search process | UUA Transitions Team | Canceled due to extremely low registration |
| late June-Aug 2026 | Search team retreat | Search team | In consultation with UUA retreat leader |
| 20 June — 31 August, 2026 | Congregational record/search profile initiated | Search team requests of UUA staff | All search team members are added to transitions email list; establishes covenantal agreement to rules of search process with UUA |
| 15 July — 01 September 2026 | Submit Break Barriers, Build Beliefs (B4) application (scheduled in order of submission) | Search team | |
| July-Sept 2026 | Congregational survey and B4 congregational self-study | Search team | Contact transitions@uua.org for template |
| Aug-Sep 2026 | Negotiating team selected | Board/search team | One search team member, one board member, one other member selected by the board |
| Sept-Oct 2026 | Search team reserves weekends for precandidating in February-March | Search team | Pre-candidating weekends will be from 05 February — 14 March |
| Sep-Nov 2026 | Small group meetings & focus groups | Search team | Small group meetings are more likely open to anyone; focus groups have specific parts or ideas about the congregation to discuss |
| Sep-Nov 2026 | “Break Barriers, Build Beliefs” (B4) congregational self-study (launch 2 weeks before workshop) | Search team | Self-study focus: widening the circle of potential ministers for the congregation. |
| Sep-Dec 2026 | Break Barriers, Build Beliefs (B4) Workshop | Search team, board, congregation | A complete update of the previous workshop, Beyond Categorical Thinking |
| Oct-Dec 2026 | Documents packet | Search team | A collection of documents about the congregation to be shared with applicants; includes items like by-laws, budgets, etc; |
| Oct -Dec 2026 | “Break Barriers, Build Beliefs” (B4) follow-up packet | Search team | For copying: newsletter, worship and coffee hour resources to keep widening the circle of potential ministers congregations may welcome. |
| Oct-Nov 2026 | Recommendations for ministerial agreement and compensation made to board | Negotiating team | Negotiating team recommends, board approves, search team adds agreement to search profile and documents packet. Only minimum compensation figure should be shared with applicants. |
| Oct-Nov 2026 | Draft agreement (with changes tracked or logged separately) and compensation worksheet completed | Search team/board | |
| mid-November 2026 | Congregational record/search profile completed and shared with transitional minister and UUA regional staff for review/feedback | Search team | All questions must be answered |
Phase 4: Opening Up the Search
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-late November 2026 | Review of congregational record/search profile | Transitional minister, regional staff, Congregational Transitions Director | Search profile reviewed by at least 2 people who give feedback, ask for clarifications, offer suggestions |
| Dec 1, 2026 | Congregational record/search profile approved and published. Search team may request publication as late as Dec. 15 if they are not ready on the 1st. | Congregational Transitions Director | The search team should get UUA approval for any changes made after publishing |
| December 1-20, 2026 | Documents Packet link submitted to Congregational Transitions Director | Search team, Congregational Transitions Director | |
| December | Consultation with Congregational Transitions Director, if desired, to prepare for discernment phase of search | Search team schedules consultation with Congregational Transitions Director | to establish uniform protocols with all ministerial applicants and have a chance to ask questions before discernment phase begins |
| December | Search team plans for applicant interviews | Search team | The search team should set aside times for hold open for interviews in advance and conduct a mock interview with their transitional minister |
Phase 5: Discernment and Mutual Selection
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04 January, 2027 | Release of names of initial applicants to the search team (soft deadline for ministers to apply) | UUA Transitions Team | |
| 04-16 January | Search team reviews applicants’ materials, shares link to documents packet with all applicants, receives references from applicants | Search team/applicants/ UUA Transitions Team | Search team reviews applicant records and shares documents packets by VIEW-ONLY access link with applicants. Team asks applicants for references (of applicants’ choosing). New applications may come in until until Jan 16th |
| Early Jan-late Jan | Video interviews of applicants | Search team and ministers | Sample Interview Questions for Settled Searches (XLSX) |
| 16 January | Last day to apply | Ministers | Search team may request extension |
| 25 January | Pre-candidating offers extended | Search team | Offers may be extended beginning at midnight local time; some congregations may not be ready |
| 26 January | Pre-candidating offers accepted | Applicants | Offers may be accepted by applicants |
| 05 February — 14 March | Pre-candidating weekends | Search team and ministers | Friday-Sunday; search team hosts |
| February-March | Developed references | Search team | Search teams must get permission from applicants before reaching out; search teams and ministers also schedule research calls with UUA regional staff |
| 15-21 March, 2027 | Discernment and follow up week | Search team and ministers | Chance to do follow up interviews or ask questions |
| Monday, 22 March, 2027 | Ministers submit ranked yes/maybe/no list to Transitions Team | Ministers | Minister’s ranking form |
| Monday, 22 March, 2027 | Search teams submit ranked yes/maybe/no list to Transitions Team | Search team | Search team’s ranking form |
| Tuesday, 23 March, 2027 | UUA Transitions Team distills matches | UUA Transitions Team | UUA Transitions Team will verify everything but mutual #1 matches (ties, second choices) |
| Wednesday, 24 March, 2027 | UUA Transitions Team confirms matches | UUA Transitions Team | UUA Transitions Team contacts both search teams and ministers |
| Thursday, 25 March, 2027 | Offers can be made and accepted | Search team/ministers | Noon Eastern/11 am Central/ 10 am Mountain/9 am Pacific |
Phase 6: Finalizing the Offer
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning 25 March, 2027 | Negotiation of employment agreement | Negotiating team and minister | Candidate minister can be connected to negotiating team after offer is accepted; agreement is not executed until successful call vote |
| 25 March-08 April, 2027 | Background checks | Board or administrator | Criminal background and sex offender check only |
| 28 March-11 April, 2027 | Announcing the candidate | Search team | Before announcement: fully negotiate agreement, initiate background check, minister must tell their own congregation (if they are serving with a congregation) |
Phase 7: Beginning a New Ministry
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 April-01 May, 2027 | Candidating week and vote to call! | Search team, candidate, board, and whole congregation | UUA dates are negotiable; the listed date range is a recommendation. The content and structure of the week should be mutually agreed to by candidate and search team |
| May, 2027 | Congregation submits notice of call form | Search team, board, or anyone familiar with details of compensation | |
| May-July 2027 | Preparation for August start of settled ministry | Board | Good good-bye to interim, office prepared for new minister, remind congregation that minister’s start date is not until August 1 |
| 01 August, 2027 | Arrival | Minister, leaders, congregants, congregational benefits manager | Make sure minister is enrolled in all compensation and benefit plans |
| Aug-Nov 2027 | Starting together | Congregation and minister/ UUA regional staff | Be intentional and relational in starting well. Plan a new ministry start-up with UUA regional staff. |
If No Match Occurs: Moving to What’s Next
| Dates | Task | Whose Is This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 02 April, 2027 | Board and search team decide and prepare to move to contract or interim search or continue in current transitional ministry for another year | Board, in consultation with search team | UUA Transition Team will provide significant support in the planning process should a pivot be needed |
| Monday, 05 April, 2027 | Ministers can begin applying for congregations which pivoted from a settled search to a contract search. The interim search has its own calendar and plays out in late April to mid-May | Ministers |