THE INTENTIONAL INTERIM MINISTRY POLICY FOR THE PRESBYTERY OF NEW HOPE

Transcription

1 THE INTENTIONAL INTERIM MINISTRY POLICY FOR THE PRESBYTERY OF NEW HOPE 1

2 A Plan for Fostering Faithful, Effective Intentional Interim Ministry in New Hope Presbytery Components of the Plan The Committee on Ministry will Establish standards and aims for intentional interim ministry in the presbytery. Develop and maintain a cadre of pastors in the presbytery trained and able to serve as intentional interim pastors. Proactively educate presbytery s sessions about intentional interim ministry, its purpose, and its practice in the Presbytery of New Hope. Create and promote the use of a template for a standard, yet modifiable covenant between a session, an interim pastor, and the presbytery one that can be given to sessions preparing to call interim pastors. Set up a monthly interim pastors support group meeting, moderated by a presbytery staff member or staff appointee, and require participation in it for all who are actively engaged in interim ministry. Appoint a COM liaison to work with each church using an interim pastor, a liaison who ordinarily also would serve as the church s vacancy counselor. Require actively engaged interim pastors to submit quarterly written reports on their work to COM. Attachments Standards and Aims for Intentional Interim Ministry in New Hope Presbytery Standard Covenant Template Quarterly Report Template 2

3 Standards and Aims for Intentional Interim Ministry in New Hope Presbytery Those serving as interim pastors in the presbytery ordinarily will have completed basic interim pastor training, or they will have had significant relevant pastoral experience and they will have been approved by the Committee on Ministry for serving as interim pastors. Ordinarily, those serving as interim pastors in New Hope Presbytery will be members of the presbytery, but exceptions to this policy will be considered. Ordinarily, the length of the original covenant made with an interim pastor will be twelve months. Generally, renewals of a covenant will be made for a length of six months at a time. The length of an intentional interim pastor s service with a congregation cannot exceed twenty-four months total. Actively engaged interim pastors will participate in the presbytery s interim pastors support group. The primary focus of the interim pastor s ministry will be assisting the congregation in its work on the Five Developmental Tasks. The interim pastor will assist the PNC in an advisory capacity and only when invited. 3

4 Covenant for Intentional Interim Ministry in New Hope Presbytery This covenant between the session of Presbyterian Church, the Reverend, and New Hope Presbytery's Committee on Ministry is established for the provision of intentional interim pastoral services to Church,, NC. The terms of the covenant shall be in effect from through. PURPOSE During the time of this ministry, a primary focus of both the intentional interim pastor and the session will be to work with the congregation on the Five Developmental Tasks of Interim Ministry, so that the congregation will 1. Come to terms with its history; 2. Discern a new congregational identity and mission; 3. Facilitate needed shifts in its leadership; 4. Renew its denominational linkages; and 5. Commit to new leadership and ministry. RESPONSIBILITIES The intentional interim pastor will Provide spiritual and administrative leadership for the congregation; Serve as head of staff and moderator of the session; Lead worship, administer the sacraments, and serve as the primary preaching pastor; Officiate at weddings and funerals, as requested; Provide, with others, for the pastoral care and visitation of the congregation; Resource the church's boards and committees for their ministries; Train newly elected officers; Assist the session in reviewing and cleaning the church's membership rolls; Assist the session in evaluating the church's financial condition and operating procedures; Serve with designated members in facilitating a congregational mission study; Prepare the congregation for electing its Pastor Nominating Committee; Provide appropriate assistance to the Pastor Nominating Committee; Contribute actively to the presbytery's life and ministry; Other responsibilities. 4

5 The session, in addition to its responsibilities listed in the Book of Order, will Provide support and counsel to the intentional interim pastor as they jointly lead the congregation through the Five Developmental Tasks; and Pray for the intentional interim pastor, remembering that change often triggers anxiety, resistance, and opposition. The presbytery, through its Committee on Ministry, will Ensure that it has regular, frequent communication with the intentional interim pastor; At the six-month mark, conduct with the session an evaluation of its work with the intentional interim pastor; Assist, if needed, in conflict resolution; Respond promptly if interference from former staff members occurs; and Provide training and guidance for the Pastor Nominating Committee. COMPENSATION The intentional interim pastor's compensation components shall include Salary and housing in the amount of $ per year (of which $ shall be designated for housing expenses) Accountable Benefits For travel expenses incurred while serving the church Up to $ for vouchered expenses For professional development expenses incurred while serving the church Up to $ for vouchered expenses Medical and pension dues, as required by the Board of Pensions; Four full weeks annually of paid vacation, to be used during the period of the covenant only; Two full weeks annually of paid study leave, to be used during the period of the covenant only; and Reasonable moving expenses. 5

6 REVIEW, AMENDMENT, AND CANCELATION OF THE COVENANT This covenant may be reviewed and amended only by the mutual consent and agreement of all parties. The covenant may be cancelled with thirty days written notice by either the intentional interim pastor or the session, with the concurrence of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry. Approval of a call to a candidate for the installed position shall constitute written notice to the intentional interim pastor. In the event the covenant is cancelled by the session before the completion of the time covered by the covenant, the intentional interim pastor will receive full salary, housing, social security supplements, and medical and pension dues for sixty days from the cancellation date. The Committee on Ministry will be an active participant in all discussions and decisions related to a cancellation of the covenant. OTHER POINTS It is understood that the intentional interim pastor is not eligible to be a candidate for the position of installed pastor at Presbyterian Church,, NC. For exception to this policy see attached Interim Ministers Pursuing Installed Positions. It is understood that the covenant may not be extended beyond twenty-four months total ministry. SIGNATURES The signatures below reflect approval of the covenant and a commitment to abide by its terms. Intentional Interim Pastor Date Clerk of Session Committee on Ministry Representative Executive Presbyter/ Stated Clerk Date Date Date 6

7 INTERIM PASTOR QUARTERLY REPORT TO COM INTERIM PASTOR: CHURCH: DATE: 1. Significant activities of the interim pastor 2. Significant events in the congregation 3. Work related to the Five Developmental Tasks of the congregation during the period and ways each has been implemented a. Coming to terms with history. b. "Discovering a new identity. c. "Shifts of power. d. "Rethinking denominational linkages. e. Commitment to new leadership and to a new future. 7

8 4. Matters the interim feels COM should be aware of (such as organizational, procedural, or personnel issues in the congregation; openness to a woman, racial ethnic or older pastor, or personal concerns of the interim pastor). 5. Date of last contacts Session contact with COM liaison or presbytery staff Interim pastor contact with presbytery staff 6. Other comments 7. Process tasks of the interim (strictly optional; may be done face-to-face with liaison) a. "Joining the system. b. "Analyzing the system. c. "Connecting with the denomination. d. "Focusing responsibility. e. "Exiting and Evaluating. 8

9 Interim Ministers Pursuing Installed Positions Committee on Ministry Policy and Process for Interim Ministers Pursuing Installed Positions The New Form of Government, sections G b-G c states, "A teaching elder employed in a temporary pastoral relationship is ordinarily not eligible to serve as the next installed pastor, co-pastor, or associate pastor. A presbytery may determine that its mission strategy permits a teaching elder employed in a temporary pastoral relationship to be eligible to serve as the next installed pastor, co-pastor, or associate pastor. Presbyteries that permit this eligibility shall establish such relationships only by a three-fourths vote of the members of presbytery present and voting." It is the practice of the Presbytery of New Hope that a temporary pastor is not eligible to become the next installed pastor of a congregation. This practice is born out of the conviction that the core integrity of the interim process, and the carrying out of the developmental tasks of interim ministry require a disposition on the part of the teaching elder that is unencumbered by the projections of installed leadership within the congregation. The Committee on Ministry will consider an exception to the usual practice of the presbytery on a case-by-case basis for those churches who demonstrate a past history of difficulty in calling a pastor. Churches with a history of conflict, or where the outgoing installed pastor has served for fifteen or more years will not be eligible for exception. In creating a policy and process for handling such requests for exception, the COM desires to preserve the greatest possible openness to the movement of God's Spirit within teaching elders and congregations, noting that the anxieties intrinsic to seasons of transition and the liabilities of the human condition may at times undermine the work of authentic discernment. If an exception to the ordinary practice is granted by COM, it must be approved by a three-fourths affirmative vote of the members of presbytery present and voting. I. Only after the developmental tasks of interim ministry are addressed and stated goals for the congregation completed are an interim leader's intentions to candidate for an installed position to be made known to the PNC, at which time an open search is conducted in accordance with the existing process for filling a vacancy in pastoral leadership. II. III. If, after an open search, the teaching elder who is serving in an interim capacity is determined to be the candidate the PNC wishes to pursue, the teaching elder and PNC will provide rationale for the discernment at the time of the interview with COM. If approved by COM, the teaching elder shall be elected by the congregation and installed as a designated pastor for a period of two years. The intent of the designated 9

10 pastor period is to allow for adequate transition time from the role of interim to installed leadership, to provide space for ongoing discernment, and to provide a natural boundary for reassessment or reaffirmation of the pastoral relationship. IV. If after two years the pastoral relationship is affirmed by the congregation, teaching elder, and COM, the designated pastor is called and elected as the installed pastor. If the call is no longer affirmed by the teaching elder or congregation, an interim pastor is elected, and the search process begins again. V. According to the Book of Order, such relationship shall be approved by three-fourths vote of the presbytery. 10