Welcome

Welcome to the UUR Ministry Search website. We'll use this site to post updates that we want to share with the congregation, as well as information for potential ministers.

Thanks for visiting,

Your Search Committee: Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeannie Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann (Chair), Roger Moody, Reba Richardson

Update 2021-04-21

This is just a reminder to please sign up for times with Rev. Marty for Candidate Week, which kicks off Saturday with meetings between Rev. Marty, the board, and the search committee. We've tried to schedule a variety of times during the week so that everyone who wants to can have an opportunity to meet with Rev. Marty in a small group. You can see a list of all of the sessions below (in Agenda view by default, but you can change your view in the top right view of the calendar to Week or Month). We'd like to get as many people as possible signed up. Sign up now!

Click here to sign up for sessions with Rev. Marty

Update 2021-04-18

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to share with you the schedule that we have planned out for Candidate Week with Rev. Marty. The goal here is to give everyone who wants to, a chance to talk directly with Rev. Marty in a small group setting, in addition to participating in the services on both Sundays. Most gatherings are limited to 8 people plus Rev. Marty and a Search Committee member. We are utilizing an online platform, Signup.com, to manage all of these sessions and you can find directions below, if you have any questions.

>>>>>>>> Click here to see the schedule and sign up <<<<<<<<

Directions:

Click the link above to see the schedule and sign up at Signup.com
Scroll down to find sessions on different days/times. You can expand/contract a day to show or hide all of the sessions on that day.
Sign up for a session by clicking on the green SIGN UP button on the right side for that session. You can expand a session to read the full description.
You don't have to sign in with Facebook or Google. You can enter your email address and click continue.
Click confirm
Enter your name and phone number and then click Save and Done.
You should now be able to see yourself signed up for that session.

If you have any questions or have trouble signing up, please don't hesitate to reach out to me (paul@uurockland.org) or Lindsey (mail@uurockland.org) for help.

Thank you,

Paul

Paul Meinersmann (he/him/his)

UUR Minister Search Committee Chair

Update 2021-04-15

Rev. Marty Pelham (they, them)

The members of the Ministerial Search Committee look forward with great excitement to introducing Rev. Marty Pelham to you during Candidating Week, April 24 through May 2. We have been working on a plan for Candidating Week that we hope will make it possible for everyone who wants to meet and talk with Rev. Marty to have an opportunity to do so. Due to the pandemic, Candidating Week will be entirely virtual. You will soon receive an Invitation and Schedule for Candidating Week with instructions on how to sign up for Zoom gatherings with Rev. Marty.

As we approach Candidating Week, we would like to share some of what we learned during our search and why we are so pleased to be presenting Rev. Marty to you as our candidate for minister. Last year you entrusted the seven of us with finding a minister who will come to know the congregation personally, meet us where we are, and help us move forward with new energy. From your answers to the congregational survey and responses during Cottage Meetings in the fall, we know that you value very strongly the warmth and caring that is characteristic of our beloved community. You made clear that you wished us to find a minister for whom pastoral relationships are of central importance, who connects well with people of all ages, and who will actively support our Religious Explorations programs across the lifespan. You asked us to find a minister with spiritual depth who will collaborate with Carney and Claire to create thoughtful and inspiring worship services. You instructed us to find a minister with a collaborative leadership style who will work with all of us to engage deeply in our ministries and define them clearly. You asked us to find a minister who will bring energy to our mission, both within and beyond our doors, and help us to discern the ways we are called to live our values among ourselves, the community, and the world. You asked us to find a minister who will help us actively connect with the lively energy and collective wisdom of our evolving denomination. And you asked us to find a minister who will be with us for a while. Once you have encountered Rev. Marty, we believe you will understand why we believe they are exceptionally well suited to join in ministry with our congregation.

As you will soon discover, Rev. Marty meets everyone with warmth and curiosity. They look forward to getting to know you, to hearing your stories, and to a time, hopefully not too long off, when it will be possible to do so while sharing a meal. Rev. Marty has a theology of relationship: to them all effective ministry is an expression of pastoral care.

In worship, Rev. Marty has an invitational presence, delivers thoughtful sermons that engage diverse theological views, and cherishes congregational singing. They strongly support lifelong Religious Explorations. Rev. Marty brings a depth of experience and commitment to shared leadership. They will lead through careful listening and mutual respect to help us develop and perform to our highest potential. Rev. Marty understands life and theology to be processes of change. They believe in radical preemptive hospitality, in looking at ways in which we can make our congregation welcoming to those who are not yet here. Rev. Marty looks forward to joining with our congregation as we come back together again to discern our path forward as we grow towards bringing about a better world.

We have come to know Rev. Marty as a person of unusual spiritual breadth and depth, of heart and head, whose ministry resonates with that of our congregation. We believe that they will bring a warm, welcoming, compassionate pastoral presence in all that they do. As we move beyond the challenges of the pandemic, we expect that Rev. Marty will seek to reach beyond our walls in newly discovered ways, help us continue our tradition of direct service within our greater community, and help us energize our call to social justice. We know Rev. Marty will be eager to connect us with other religious leaders and with the greater UUA world.

We look forward with great anticipation to your discovery of the many gifts that Rev. Marty brings to our congregation.

The Ministerial Search Committee: Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeannie Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann (Chair), Roger Moody, Reba Richardson

Update 2021-04-04

Dear Members and Friends,

On behalf of the Ministerial Search Committee, I am very excited to share with you that we have invited Rev. Marty Pelham (they/them) to be our candidate for settled ministry.

The Search Committee spent a virtual weekend with Rev. Marty in early March and it was an absolute joy to get to know them better and get a sense of whether they were a good candidate for our congregation. We started the weekend off with a Zoom dinner party, which was tons of fun, and throughout the weekend had a great deal of conversation about our congregation, Rev. Marty's ministry, and the shared possibilities. With each reference phone call we made, our enthusiasm for Rev. Marty was re-affirmed. And they are as much enthralled with us as we are with them.

The Search Committee is united in our delight to be moving to the next step in this process with Rev. Marty and I encourage you to learn more about them by visiting their website at https://www.uuministry.com/martypelham. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions.

Candidate week will be April 25 - May 2 and there will be a Congregational meeting following the May 2 service to vote on calling Rev. Marty to be our settled minister. There is much planning to do for that week and we hope to put together a schedule that will allow as many folks as possible a chance to meet and interact with Rev. Marty in a small group setting, plus they will lead a service on both Sundays.

Again, we are very excited to finally share this news with you and hope that you will get excited to meet Rev. Marty soon. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at search@uurockland.org with any questions you may have.

Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeannie Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann, Roger Moody, and Reba Richardson

Update 2021-02-02

Who doesn't love a snow day! I'm sitting here catching up on some Search Committee tasks, like giving you all an update, and about to enjoy a warm cup of tea. Listening to Rev. Susan talk about ministry during her sermon this past weekend, I was thinking about where we are in this search process and how far we've come.

We've come to the pre-candidate stage. We have three pre-candidates that will move through this stage with us. We'll observe a neutral pulpit service that they put on, an easier task in this time of Covid, for a local congregation. (Please don't ask us where or when, as it is important to maintain confidentiality for the ministerial candidates throughout this process.) We also would, in a non-Covid time, bring the pre-candidate to the area to show them around, spend time eating with them, show them the church, and just get to know them better as we continue to ascertain whether it would be a good mutual fit for us and the minister.

As we continue to figure out how to make these pre-candidate weekends effective, one thing that we have decided to do is to give all of you a chance to record a message to share with them. Maybe you want to say what you love about our church, or why you think the midcoast is the best place in the world to live, or maybe you want to ask them to think about a question or an idea that relates to church life. Or maybe you just want to introduce yourself and say hello. We are using an online service, VidHug, to do this and you have until the end of the day on Feb 14 to record/upload your video. Keep these to 30-60 seconds (or less) as we'll put together all of these recordings into a single video to share with each of the pre-candidates. We can't wait to see what you all record and to share the love.

Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeanne Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann, Roger Moody, Reba Richardson

Update 2021-01-04

It is all church tonight in my house! As I write this, Becky Meinersmann (my wife) is on Zoom in an auction meeting and Krista Meinersmann (my mom) is on Zoom hosting small group ministry, and here I am doing a little Search Committee update/business.

The Search Committee met last night for about 2.5 hours to review the names of candidates that we received on January 2 from the UUA. The names we received are all candidates that have read our Congregational Record and are interested in possibly serving as our next minister. As a general timeline, we'll soon begin scheduling initial interviews with candidates with the goal of getting down to 3 pre-candidates who we would then have more extensive conversations with.

It has been a lot of work, work that was often tedious and seemingly never-ending, to get to this point of actually looking at candidates. The truly hard word begins now as we take all of the information that you have given us and keep that in our minds as we explore these candidates. In many ways, it finally feels real, at least for me, now that we are discussing candidates and their potential to be our minister.

And while we aren't able to discuss candidates with you, I want you all to know where we are at in the process. As we met last night and my kids complained about "another meeting," I felt the weight of this awesome responsibility, but also the excitement of the possibilities for the future. I'm very much looking forward to each step yet to come.

Paul Meinersmann

On Behalf of your Search Committee:

Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeanne Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann, Roger Moody, Reba Richardson

Update 2020-12-01

Our position is officially posted in the UUA Job Portal and is available for ministerial candidates to begin looking at. We've put together an extensive Congregational Record that prints out as a 30+ page PDF or you can look at it here on our Search website. We turn our attention to putting together the packet of documents that can be shared with minister candidates after names are released to the Search Committee in early January. In the meantime, please read the record and share your thoughts with us.

Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeanne Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann, Roger Moody, Reba Richardson

Update 2020-11-18

THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop facilitated by Rev. Keith Kron, Director of the Transitions Office at the UUA, and/or attended the worship service that Keith led on Sunday. Keith gave all present much to think about. May our conversations continue! From all of us on the Ministerial Search Committee, many, many thanks for joining with us in this vital step in the search for our next minister.

Lucie Bauer, Patty King, Jeanne Klainer, Jean Matlack, Paul Meinersmann, Roger Moody, Reba Richardson

Update 2020-11-02

Are You Getting Ready For The Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop?

Friday, November 13, 6:30-8:00 pm

Saturday, November 14, 9:30-11:00 am

Your participation is vital as our beloved congregation moves forward towards our next chapter in ministry. The more of us who contribute to this conversation, the richer the discussion, and the more accurately the Search Committee will be able to represent the congregation.

To prepare for the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop, our facilitator, Rev. Keith Kron, asks each participant to fill out in advance a form that asks what concerns and what benefits you would have were the congregation to call a minister who identifies as a person of color, or as having a disability, or as LGBTQ+, or with other identities that may also produce concerns and benefits.

Below is a video in which Keith explains the BCT Concerns & Benefits Form which can be accessed by clicking on this link. Responses will not be linked to individual participants. They are anonymous!

The Search Committee encourages you to fill out the form whether or not you are able to participate in the workshop. Your responses will enrich our discussions during the workshop and help guide us in the search for our next minister. We hope, though, that you will be able to join in the workshop.

Update 2020-10-27

“Will the new minister hear me? Will my concerns and needs be met? Will the minister understand what I’m living with? How will the community respond to our minister?”

The Beyond Categorical Thinking program is designed to promote inclusive thinking and help prevent unintended discrimination in the search process for a new minister. The program includes a three hour BCT workshop presented in two ninety minute Zoom sessions (the first on Friday evening and the second on Saturday morning) facilitated by Rev. Keith Kron, Director of the Transitions Office at the UUA, who will also lead our worship service (“Zoom Church”) that Sunday. In the workshop, we will:

Consider the hopes, expectations, and concerns we have for a new minister
Learn more about the ministerial search process, and
Explore how thinking categorically about people sometimes narrows the possibilities in searching for the best candidate.

The Search Committee invites everyone to participate in the virtual Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop on Friday, November 13, 6:30-8:00 pm (First Half) and Saturday, November 14, 9:30-11:00 am (Second Half).

To help us plan for the BCT workshop, we ask that you let us know you will be participating by emailing, texting, or phoning Lucie Bauer at lucie@uurockland.org or (207) 975-7043.

Update 2020-10-20

The Search Committee has been meeting via Zoom every week since July. We’ve completed a lot of work already, and have much more to do. The survey has been analyzed and summarized, and we’re still digesting what we learned and how to share it with you. And we’ve been working on assembling all the materials that we will be providing to prospective candidates, from information on the Rockland area, to information on all of us, to budgets and bylaws and newsletters. We’ve got a detailed work schedule and we feel we’re right where we need to be right now. That said, doing this mostly remotely is expanding the technical skills for many of us!

The next step for the congregation will be a special program, led by UUA personnel, to which the whole congregation will be invited to participate (via zoom). There’ll be more information to come, but for now …..

SAVE THESE DATES!

Friday, November 13, 6:30-8:00 pm

Saturday, November 14, 9:30-11:00 am

Sunday, November 15, 10:00-11:00 am, Worship Service

The Ministerial Search Committee invites you to participate by Zoom in the BEYOND CATEGORICAL THINKING workshop (presented in two 90 minute sessions) and

Sunday worship service. The program, which is part of our congregation’s search process, is designed to promote inclusive thinking and help prevent unfair discrimination in the search process for a new minister. Further information to follow.

We wish we had more opportunities to communicate with you directly, and we will do our best to keep everyone abreast of happenings. Most important, we welcome your questions or feedback or comments as we continue this process. You can reach out to any of us on the committee or all of us (search@uurockland.org).

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