Minister of Congregational Life – half time

Description of minister’s role in relation to other paid staff

The Assistant Minister, or Minister of Congregational Life (MCL), will report to the Lead Minister (along with the DLRE, Congregational Administrator, and Director of Music Ministry). The minister will be included in the bi-weekly All Staff meeting, bi-weekly one-on-one supervision meeting, and a once monthly Worship meeting.  Attendance at evening meetings to help support lay leaders will be required but not to surpass two evening meetings per week.

Primary Areas of Focus

The minister will be responsible for supporting two primary functions in congregational life:

• Membership Development and Engagement
• Leadership Development and Support
• In addition, during the winter and spring of 2020, the Assistant Minister’s position will shift to include serving as the Lead Sabbatical Minister for four months, January through April.

The Assistant Minister is also a member of the Worship Team and actively participates in worship leadership and preaching.  Preaching opportunities are determined based on applicant’s strengths and interests.

Membership Development and Engagement

Within a three-year period UUCWC experienced growth of close to 30%.  Our retention is strong but we still teeter on that precipice of 300 formal members.  Somewhere between 60 and 100 adults participate on an on-going basis in the life of UUCWC without any formal title or ties.  As growth continues, long term members wonder about their place in the system; new members struggle to find their way into a vibrant and relational congregation.

The Assistant Minister for Congregational Life will oversee the Membership Ministry, including the path to membership (in collaboration with the Lead Minister), and strategic connection opportunities for long term and new members (in collaboration with the Director of Lifespan Religious Education).  This includes current systems like our Neighborhood Potlucks, Faith Forward, and Welcome Table Wednesdays; connecting existing ministries that currently act in silos (like Membership, Community Building, Adult Religious Education, and Nominating),  but will also require new initiatives and marketing strategies. Comfort with database and excel spreadsheet usage is required.

Leadership Development and Support

UUCWC is a hardworking congregation that prides itself on a long history of doing more or making more possible than might be expected. As such, for a generation or more, every member was a leader or had the opportunity to be.  Today, we live in the tension of long term leaders shifting their energy and focus, the culture of volunteerism changing, and need.

The Assistant Minister will create a path to leadership that values all levels of participation, from Sunday morning attendance to serving on the Board.  We hope to see leadership development that includes a clear and supportive path into leadership, support while in leadership, and a clear and supportive path out of leadership that celebrates and honors service to the congregation and Unitarian Universalism.  Though this will be the charge of the Assistant Minister to create, instituting such changes will be a collaborative all-staff responsibility that the MCL will oversee.

People with disabilities, people of color, and those who identify as L/G/B/T/Q are strongly encouraged to apply.

Hours and Salary

20 hours a week on average

$26,500 plus FICA, Life Insurance, LTD, Pension and Professional Expenses; does not include Medical Insurance.

Interested applicants should email Rev. Kim Wildszewski at minister@uucwc.org with a letter of interest.