Newsletter, Feb. 25, 2014: Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What’s a “Pre-Candidate” and what’s a “Candidate”?
A. A “Pre-Candidate” is one of
three semi-finalists to be our next settled minister. The MSC has invited each
Pre-Candidate to a weekend-long interview. At the conclusion of this stage of
the process, the MSC will deliberate and select a single Candidate to recommend
to the congregation. The Candidate will then spend ten days—“Candidating
Week”—meeting the congregation and conducting two Sunday services. Afterwards,
the congregation votes on whether to call the Candidate as its next settled
minister.
Q. When is Candidating Week?
A. From Friday, April 25, to
Sunday, May 4. (Save the dates!)
Q. Why can’t the congregation meet more than one Candidate?
A. Every applicant in the large
pool needs to be carefully and systematically vetted. Because the full
congregation cannot devote the necessary time to get to know multiple
candidacies as intensely, as efficiently, and as contextually as the MSC can,
you delegated that work to us.
Q. When can the MSC approach its top Pre-Candidate and make an offer of
Candidacy?
A. At noon on the first Thursday in April. All UU churches seeking to
hire a minister make a phone call, at the same time and on the same day, to
their top choice. A minister who gets more than one phone call gets to decide
which church to accept.
Q. What happens if we get turned down?
A. The MSC needs to have decided
in advance whether another Pre-Candidate is also an excellent match. If so, the
MSC will call the next Pre-Candidate and offer Candidacy. If there is no such
consensus within the MSC, or if all 3 Pre-Candidates accept other offers, then
we’d need a new interim minister and a new search next year. (We do not expect that to happen!)
Q. When does the congregation vote whether to call the minister?
A. Sunday, May 4.
Q. What sized majority will a Candidate be looking for in order to
accept the ministry of this church?
A. Typically, more than 90%. The
need for congregational solidarity and forbearance toward a new minister is
another reason why the process involves a single Candidacy.
Q. Who decides the terms of the contract?
A. The terms need to be
negotiated, in advance of May 4, between the minister and the church. A
Negotiating Team—one member of the Prudential Committee, one member of the MSC,
and one additional member—negotiates the employment terms with the Candidate.
The MSC member of the Negotiating Team will have discussed with the Candidate
the job expectations, compensation and benefits, and the parties will have
reached “near agreement” in advance. The Prudential Committee approves the
final terms.
