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Update on Transition Team
(submitted by Tammy Martens)
In October of 2021, at a Leadership Team meeting, I announced my retirement as your Associate Pastor. In that meeting, I also proposed a plan for my transition. After explaining my proposal and some discussion, the Leadership Team, along with Julia and Ken, gave me full permission to move forward with the goals of the proposal.
The first goal was to form a transition team that I would lead with the following goals to guide us:
*To develop a thorough understanding of the Children and Youth programming which includes the roadmap of Christian Education/Spiritual Formation that we follow for children 0-18 years of age.
*To determine what the vital pieces of this roadmap are and carry them forward under new leadership.
*To identify the current job description of the Associate Pastor and consider what the Associate Pastor job description should be that would best meet the needs in the 21st century. Should this job strictly focus on Children/Youth/Family ministry and not include other aspects such as preaching, worship leading, etc.? Should this position be a 2/3rds appointment? Less? More? Should this person be ordained?
*To seek wisdom from Senior Pastor Search Team members—what they learned in that process.
*To understand transition models and decide on a model of transition that would work best for ORUCC.
*To assist in defining my role in my months remaining.
* To understand the financial costs of the departure and what salary range is possible to offer.
* To develop a covenant with departing pastor that specifically addresses attendance at future memorial services, funerals, weddings, and worship services.
I assembled a transition team last November. The team consists of: Susan Watson, Kristin Muckian, Rachael Lancor, and Julia Burkey. We met a number of times in November and December. We reviewed the Christian Education/Spiritual Formation roadmap for children 0-18 years and have identified the pieces, which include philosophical/theological underpinnings, programs, curricula, and activities, that are important for the church to sustain and for the next person to build upon. The team also encouraged me to make a timeline of the flow of the year and what activities and plans need to be worked on each month.
The Transition Team then met on their own (without Julia or I) to put together a list of names they would recommend for the Associate Pastor Search Team. The Leadership Team met in January to approve the list of names and then seven people were asked to join the Search Team. They are: Nancy Wettersten (chair), Suzanne Olajos, Jerry Hagen, Susan Watson, Kristin Muckian, and two youth—Josie Gasser and Josie Gilbert.
In December, the team worked on the job description and finalized the description and then we handed that off to the Search Team.
We decided that we would want to use a succession model for this transition. It is hoped that someone would be hired before my departure so that I could overlap with that person for a short period of time. It is too difficult to predict at this point if this can be achieved. As the Search Team moves into the process, they will be able to inform the Leadership Team and the Transition Team if this is possible.
I will provide monthly updates as to our progress with the Transition Team. Updates from the Search Team will come directly from Nancy Wettersten, the chair of that team.
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