Pastoral Transition
"Our pastor has resigned. What should we do first? What help can we expect? How can we grow through this change and look forward to an even brighter future with a new pastor?"
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod has established a process for helping congregations and pastoral leaders achieve healthy transitions. The process is designed to ensure healthy closure with an outgoing leader, assist the congregation in assessing its needs and beginning the developmental tasks of the interim period, move into interviewing candidates and calling a new pastor, and implementing with the next pastor the vision for ministry developed during the transition.
Pastoral Transition: A Guide for Lay Leaders
Download the Pastoral Transition guide (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
This Guide introduces the four phases of the transition process with additional resource pages for each phase. Resource Documents for the Introduction and for Phase One are particularly important to help congregational leaders understand and enter into the interim process, while avoiding common mistakes. Therefore, it is suggested that along with the Introduction and Phase Steps, these Resource Documents be immediately distributed to the Congregation Council by printing pages 1 through 27 of this Guide.
Phase One: After a Pastor Resigns
Phase One begins when a pastor resigns or departs for any reason. It is important to find a way to say goodbye and to begin to define appropriate boundaries so that the congregation is able to receive another individual as the pastor. Phase One ends with the selection of an Intentional Interim Pastor.
Phase Two: Self-Study & Visioning Process, Congregational Profile
Phase Two begins with the welcoming of the Interim Pastor, who with the congregation works through the Five Developmental Tasks. The purpose of these tasks is to help the congregation conduct a study of itself and its situation, to develop a Vision of the future ministry to which God is calling this congregation, and to discern the type of pastor needed to lead the congregation to fulfill that Vision. Phase Two concludes with submitting a package of materials called the Congregational Profile to the Synod’s Office of the Bishop.
Phase Three: The Call Process
Phase Three begins with the selection of the Call Committee once the Congregational Profile has been approved. The Call Committee receives the names of possible pastoral candidates, interviews and hears them preach, and eventually recommends one candidate to the Council. If the Council agrees, the Council calls a special congregational meeting for the congregation to vote on whether to extend a call to the candidate. Phase Three ends when the call is accepted by the pastoral candidate and the congregation/interim pastor partnership is concluded.
Phase Four: Implementation with Next Pastor
Phase Four involves welcoming the next pastor. This new partnership is celebrated with a formal installation service. Rather than set aside the work of the transition process, it is important for the pastor and congregation to work on implementation together. The arrival of the next pastor is not a time when “things return to normal,” but is a continuing part of transition.
For more information about your congregation's process, contact the dean of your conference or the assistant to the bishop who relates to your conference.
