Introduction
Unitarian Universalist Ministers work hard to achieve Fellowship, and they work hard to practice ministry in many settings. They are required to acquire and build upon learnings and skills to enter our ministry, and they are required to continue broadening and improving them during the course of their ministries. In the main, most do a fine job.
But Unitarian Universalist Ministers are humans, and our ministers serve congregations that are full of humans. Given that, there are times when behaviors and competencies can fall short of our standards. When this happens, our collective commitment to justice and care may necessitate action on behalf of the Association. Then our accountability processes often begin by placing a minister “on hold.”
The Ministerial Fellowship Committee and the Review Team: Roles & Scopes of Authority
Two bodies currently have the power to place a minister on hold: the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) and the UUA’s Review Team.
The MFC has jurisdiction over Ministerial Fellowship within the UUA and is responsible for determining if an individual is and remains qualified to hold the credentials of Fellowship. When serious concerns about incompetence, ethical violations, or misconduct arise, the MFC may conduct a Fellowship Review to weigh whether a Unitarian Universalist clergyperson should be allowed to continue to represent our faith as a Fellowshipped Minister. Removing a minister from Fellowship is the most serious sanction a UU Minister can face from the Association.
A Fellowship Review is often, but not always, triggered by a formal complaint submitted by someone impacted by the minister in question; complaints are received by the UUA’s Office of Safety and Ethics, whose staff assess whether the complaint is credible and should be investigated by an independent Investigator. Investigations are comprehensive and may result in either a recommendation of dismissal of the complaint or referral to the MFC. A minister who is under investigation and/or undergoing a Fellowship Review is almost always placed on hold while their fitness for ministry is assessed.
The Review Team, presently made up of staff members from the UUA’s Congregational Life and Ministries & Faith Development staff groups (collectively, “MFD” or “CL” staff), operates under the auspices of the MFC, specifically as directed by MFC Rule 22, “Administrative Hold from Settlement.” Complementing the MFC, the Review Team serves to hold in care ministers who have experienced conflicted endings, supporting them in reflecting on what caused the ministry to end in conflict and in creating a plan that supports discernment about their appropriate service in the future. The work of the Review Team does not impact a minister’s Fellowship status, nor does the Review Team have any authority over Ministerial Fellowship status.
Ministers can only come to be in care of the Review Team by referral from the MFC or by recommendation by MFD or CL staff, who consider each negotiated resignation and conflicted ending of a ministry. While both congregations and ministers generally share responsibility for the dynamics that lead to a difficult ending of a shared ministry, there are times when it is clear that the congregation has longstanding patterns of conflict with or mistreatment of religious professionals and therefore bears the majority of the responsibility; in such cases, a minister will not be placed on hold after going through a conflicted ending or negotiated resignation.
What It Means for a Minister to Be “On Hold”
A minister on hold is prohibited from participating in the UUA’s ministerial transitions system to search for a new ministerial position, nor are they permitted to accept contracts for congregational ministry, including sabbatical coverage. Ministers who are referred for hold by the MFC or by MFD or CL staff enter the in-care process with the Review Team and will remain on hold until the required developmental and reflective work has been concluded. This hold is an intentional part of the care process, providing reflective and restorative space separate from the pressures of new congregational service, and can take anywhere from a month to a few years. MFC rules set a maximum of three years for a minister to complete this process.
Both the MFC and the Review Team are sensitive to the financial impact being on hold can impose. Many ministers are able to move through the process and complete their required work within a few months; others need more time to take a pause after a difficult ending, and/or to complete specific pieces of reflective or skill-building work that take more time. Ministers on hold are permitted to guest preach, sometimes referred to as pulpit supply, but typically allowed to preach no more than once per quarter in any individual congregation. Being on hold may also allow for certain other types of ministry-related work, such as chaplaincy and other forms of community ministry, however the expectation is that a minister serving in those ways is still moving through the tasks of the hold process within the three-year time limit. Additional work in congregations beyond these limits is considered on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the Review Team before engagement.
Review Team Process
Conflicted endings to ministries can be grueling and heartbreaking for all concerned. Many ministers will experience such an ending over the course of their careers, and the time needed to heal, gain perspective, and strengthen key areas of professional practice cannot be rushed or undertaken alone. The UUA holds both a commitment to and a responsibility for supporting UU clergy throughout their careers with the resources needed to maintain professional boundaries, deepen self-reflection, and engage in healthy ministries in every setting where our clergy people serve. The UUA balances this deep commitment to ministers with the duty to ensure our congregations are being served by qualified, skilled, healthy ministers who can engage in thriving shared ministry with the congregation. The Review Team hold process exists for this reason.
Please note that there is a separate process to designate congregations themselves with “Special Care” status following a conflicted ending, which often entails similar restrictions from search and settlement and requirements for developmental work. This process is the purview of Congregational Life staff, however, and is outside of the scope of the work of the Review Team.
When a minister is placed in the care of the Review Team, a member of the team is assigned to serve as the point of contact and primary liaison to the clergyperson for the duration of the process. In addition, the minister will be assigned a Clergy Coach through the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association who will accompany the minister through the process.
The Review Team meets monthly to review incoming cases, ongoing cases, and those that are ready for completion.
Generally, the situations that end in a minister’s referral to the Review Team are complex, and multiple parties share responsibility for the deterioration of relationship and effective ministry. As the Review Team’s scope of work is ensuring that a Minister can acknowledge and learn from their part in the conflicted ending, the Review Team process for the minister involves three foundational elements:
- A Written Reflection on the minister’s understanding of what happened leading up to their being placed on hold
- Working with a Coach provided by and trained by the UUMA to accompany the minister through the process
- Development of a Personal & Professional Development Plan (PPDP) focused on identifying areas for personal healing, learning, and growth with a focus on these facets:
- Development Goal: What is your personal or professional goal? How does this goal address the personal and/or professional growing edges identified in this moment of your ministry?
- Relationships of Accountability and Support: What are the relationships that will help you meet this goal? What support do you anticipate needing to meet this goal?
- Practices: What are the practices that support meeting this goal?
- Resources: What are the resources (books, training, etc.) that will support meeting this goal?
- Evaluation Method: How will you know when you have made progress towards this goal?
Ministers who move with focus and intention through the Review Team process usually can do so within a matter of months. Some ministers need or want more time for healing, reflection, and/or skill development to address challenges that arose during their previous ministry(ies); in these cases, the process can take longer (up to 3 years, according to policy). When a minister does submit their paperwork, which includes the above elements, the Review Team endeavors to make a decision about the minister’s hold status within 1-2 months, depending on when materials are submitted relative to team meeting dates and what is already on the Review Team’s docket.
Review Team Outcomes
Review Team cases reach conclusion when:
- The clergy person has successfully completed the care process and is released to search for parish positions. In the majority of cases, both the Minister and the Review Team’s ultimate goal is the clergy person’s successful return to and reengagement with Parish Ministry. Once they have completed the care process, the minister is moved out of hold and released into ministerial practice. In some cases, the Review Team may impose some extended restrictions or oversight on the minister.
- The Minister is referred to the MFC. If a minister on hold with the Review Team does not successfully complete the process within the three years’ time allotted, or if the Review Team determines that the care process is not appropriate for the minister, the Review Team may recommend that the minister be referred to the MFC for Fellowship Review.
- The Minister “Retires on Hold.” Some clergy placed on hold through the Review Team process are permitted to “Retire on Hold,” remaining in Fellowship although they have not completed the care process to the satisfaction of the Review Team. “Retiring on Hold” means the clergyperson has agreed, as a condition of being allowed to stay in Fellowship without completing the Review Team process, that they will remain permanently on hold and adhere to those restrictions. If a minister is granted “Retirement on Hold” status and does not comply with the restrictions, that minister will be referred to the MFC for a Fellowship Review and face the possibility that their Fellowship will be revoked.
Commitment to Care and Core Assumptions
The hold process has grown and changed over time as Unitarian Universalism has evolved, and it will surely continue to do so into the future. Today, the UUA directs considerable resources of time, energy, capacity, and care toward ministers on hold, in alignment with our shared UU Values, with Love at the center.
While the hold process requires work and engagement from those being held in care, the Review Team operates from a place of hope: that clergy can gain new insight into who they are and how they do ministry, create a personal and professional development plan, and discern their appropriate service in the future. This work is not punitive in purpose; it is grounded in care, accountability, and the possibility of renewed ministry.