Ministry transition is always a difficult and complicated time for both authorized ministers and ministry settings. Such times always present needs for getting to know one another or for saying goodbye in the most faithful ways. But in this current season of COVID-19, many of the usual in-person events of welcome or farewell that one may hope for or expect are not possible or advised against. Ministers and ministry settings may naturally wonder how they can most effectively navigate these moments in such unusual circumstances.
Ministry transitions will still happen during this season. A minister may still discern that it is time to follow a new call, and a ministry setting may still need to address transitional needs. The potential feelings of anxiety and grief surrounding a ministry transition may be heightened under our present conditions. Addressing and honoring such feelings will be an important component of how both partners in the ministry relationship shape what they choose to do during this time.
This resource offers some possibilities for beginnings and endings in a ministry partnership. It will have new suggestions added and existing suggestions changed as the Church lives into more experiences.This resource is considered a supplement to the “Departure Ethics” section in A Sure Foundation, which provides additional support and guidance for pastoral transitions.
Beginnings
Authorized Ministers beginning a new ministry
Write a pastoral letter to introduce yourself. This may include acknowledging that it may be a while before you may meet in person, as well as days and times when you will be available for phone or virtual meetings so that people may begin getting to know you.
Record an introductory video to be shared on your website or social media. This will give not only members but also the wider community a chance to see and hear who you are.
Make phone calls or set up Zoom appointments with people in your setting. At the start, this may be most needed for other staff, shut-ins, and lay leaders and committees. Consider the possibility of small Zoom gatherings to get to know groups of people and begin hearing their hopes and dreams for your ministry together.
If applicable, familiarize yourself with your setting’s current method of offering online worship. Explore its possibilities and limitations and ensure that you will be able to use it effectively.
Ministry settings welcoming a new minister
Identify people who may help the new minister with their transition, which may be the governing board, Pastoral Relations Committee, other staff members, or a combination of these. This group may check in regularly over the first few months with the new minister about their questions, member needs, and their own needs for support and information. Consider that this may involve a combination of a regular meeting time that follows proper social distancing guidelines and individual phone calls.
Plan a “card shower:” encourage members to send cards and notes of welcome to your new minister. If possible, enclose a picture so they may begin connecting names and faces.
Ministry leaders: consider working with the new minister to organize Zoom meetings of no more than 6-10 people per session so they may begin to meet members and hear their hopes for this new ministry partnership. Set the agenda so that all participants will have the chance to speak.
Prepare a list of those who are experiencing the most immediate pastoral concerns so that the new minister may be able to check in on these people and begin building relationship as early as possible.
Plan delivery of a few meals during the minister’s first week. Find out their favorite food items or restaurants. Gauge the feasibility of doing this beforehand if the minister is not immediately moving to the area or for other reasons.
Pray for your new minister. Remember that they are experiencing uncertainty, anxiety, grief, and loss just as members might be. Move forward with this understanding while also giving thanks for this new partnership.
Endings
Ministers ending a ministry
Write a pastoral letter to members of your setting. Include your grief at not being able to say goodbye in person, your gratitude for your ministry together, and set appropriate boundaries around future ministry responsibilities as laid out in the Ethical Departure Guidelines in the MESA resource A Sure Foundation.
Make phone calls or set up Zoom meetings with people who may need to especially hear from you before you go. This may include shut-ins, people with whom you’ve become especially close, and people with whom you may wish to resolve conflict.
If you have been offering online worship, help ensure that this may continue by sharing website and social media passwords or administrative duties with other ministry leaders. Share best practices that you have learned over your time leading it.
Explore ways in which a farewell liturgy may still be incorporated into your final worship service. What could that look like for the online method that you are using? For instance, what may be possible over Zoom may not be possible on Facebook Live. Explore what would be most appropriate and effective for your medium.
Your ministry setting may extend an invitation at some future date for you to return for in-person closure. Doing so may not be possible or desirable in every circumstance, and will require attentiveness to ethical boundaries before, during, and after. Factors to consider should include the advice of the Association or Conference minister in your previous setting, how your previous setting is navigating the transition, and the standards set out in the Ordained Ministers Code and Ethical Departure Guidelines sections of the MESA resource A Sure Foundation.
Be gentle with yourself. Remember that the setting you are departing is feeling its own grief, frustration, and disappointment over not being able to conclude in person. Pray for them and for you as you navigate these feelings both apart and together.
Ministry settings concluding their time with a minister
Plan a “card shower:” encourage your members to send cards and notes of thanks to your departing minister, expressing what their ministry has meant to you.
Plan a “farewell parade:” organize your members to come together at a designated day and time to caravan past your minister’s house. Be creative and joyful by decorating cars and making signs and banners for them to see as you drive past. Make sure they’ll be home when you do this!
Organize food delivery for them the week or weekend leading up to their final day. Find out what their favorite restaurants or meals are and plan accordingly. If such delivery is not possible, consider gift cards as one possible alternative.
Call to see how they are doing in their final days, and to express thanks for their ministry.
You may wonder about the possibility of the former minister returning at a future time for an in-person farewell. This may not be possible or desirable in all circumstances, in accordance with the Ethical Departure Guidelines in the MESA resource A Sure Foundation. Any conversation about this should include your interim or new settled minister and your Conference or Association staff.
Pray for your departing minister. Remember that they are experiencing their own grief at the end of your ministry partnership, and that they are wishing that this ending could be different, just as you may be. Give thanks for the time that you have had together.
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