CONGREGATION MEETING NOVEMBER 11, 2007 |
A congregation meeting will be held immediately following the church service on November 11th. At that meeting we will decide together on a course of action in response to Amanda’s resignation, which is effective January 31, 2008.
There are at least four options, and I have outlined and compared each of them in the table below. Of course other options may be raised for consideration at the November 11 meeting.
Option 1: Search for a new consulting minister to begin as early as May 1, 2008. The Northlake Board of Trustees unanimously endorses this option.
Option 2: Search for an interim consulting minister who would work with Northlake for a fixed period of time (12-18 months). Towards the end of that period we would conduct a search for a new permanent minister. The interim minister would not be a candidate.
Option 3: Do not search for or hire a new minister at this time.
Option 4: Call a full-time minister (see here for full explanation of financial impact).
On October 16 the Northlake Board of Trustees met with David Maynard, the Settlement Representative for Consulting Ministers in the Pacific Northwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association. David explained to the Board the options that we have with respect to a consulting (i.e. less than full time) ministry. He also explained the PNWD-UUA recommended process for conducting a minister search, and that is the process we will follow.
Assuming that on November 11 the congregation decides that it wants to pursue Option 1 above, immediately entering into a search for a new consulting minister, below is an outline of the steps that we would take to make that happen. (If we chose Option 4, calling a full-time minister, the process would be similar, but the new minister would probably not begin work until September 2008.)
- November 11 – Congregation elects a new Search Committee. The Board has created a slate of nominees for this committee as follows: Matt Biery, Wes Cain, Paul David, Judy Jesiolowski, Warren Jessop, Sandy Peterson, Mary Singh.
- November/December – The Search Committee will conduct a survey of the congregation to define what we are looking for in a minister. The Search Committee will also create a “packet” of information describing in words and photos the people and programs of Northlake. The survey be included in the packet and will help potential candidates understand who we are as a congregation.
- January – The Search Committee provides our packet of information to interested candidates and in return receives resumes from each candidate. During this process the Search Committee maintains absolute confidentiality about all applicants, their qualifications, and/or any information pertaining to them. Applicant names and details are not shared with the Board or others in the congregation, and are not revealed to the applicants.
- February/March – The Search Committee interviews candidate ministers and selects a single candidate to be presented to the congregation for their consideration.
- April – The Search Committee conducts a “Candidating Weekend” during which their nominee for the position meets informally with Northlake members and speaks at the Sunday service. A congregation meeting will be held after church to vote on whether to offer the position to the candidate.
- May 1 – Assuming a positive vote and assuming the candidate accepts the offer and is available in May, the new minister begins work at Northlake.
Jim Mason
President, Board of Trustees