Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Senior Minister Search Committee?

The committee consists of 9 members of the Congregation elected by the Congregation.  The committee members have been charged by the Board to submit to the Board a recommendation for a Senior Minister when Laurel retires in 2009.  The committee’s job begins and ends with the search for the Senior Minister.  Different processes may be employed for the choosing of other ministers contemplated by the Chart and Compass 2010 plan. 

The committee has been charged to approach the search without an agenda or any preconceived notions; they are to remain open minded and to think about the “big picture” of the church’s future and the congregational needs as identified in the Chart and Compass process.  The committee brings diverse voices and viewpoints to visualize “what is not yet”: to perceive the desires and needs of leadership for the Congregation into the future.  The committee’s activities to gather the information necessary to make this determination will be transparent, but the committee’s deliberations will be confidential. 

The committee consists of the following members: Richard Anderson, Alma Ayres, Bradley Ferst, Gary Garcia, Penny Kent, Clark Lund, Angie Sifferman, Jenny Watson and Jenny Weil.

2. What is the process?

We are a large church.  The Senior Minister, in addition to being the spiritual leader and the face of the church in the community, is also the chief executive officer (CEO) with a responsibility of running the business of the church. 

The committee’s job is to discern the attributes of a new Senior Minister who will best serve in this demanding role for our diverse Congregation.  We will begin with the Congregation, using multiple methods to elicit the Congregation’s wishes and needs. Input from the staff and the various groups within the body of the church will also be solicited in developing this profile.  The profile will then be used to assess potential candidates.

Once the committee feels it has found someone with the attributes and skills described in the profile, that candidate for Senior Minister will be submitted to the Board for validation and presentation to the Congregation.  This validation will include a formal candidating week and the vote of the Congregation.

3. What is Daniel Kanter’s role in this process?

The UUA has an “inside candidate rule,” which provides that Congregations have to decide about internal candidates before they can have an open search.  There are at least a couple of reasons for this rule: it is respectful of the relationship between current ministers and the searching Congregation and it’s fair to candidates in a general search, since they all begin on equal footing.

In local terms, this means that our Congregation retains the right to define the competencies and qualities we seek in a Senior Minister and to evaluate any and all candidates on that basis.  But this rule reminds us to respond to candidates on their own merits, as individuals and as people with whom we might hope to build a trusting, mutually respectful relationship.  In that light, the process begins in dialog with Daniel Kanter.  He has the chance to offer his vision and perspective and to speak of his wants and needs.  If the search committee and Reverend Kanter believe that he is the right match for the Congregation as Senior Minister, then he will be recommended as a candidate for the position.  If the Board affirms the recommendation, then Daniel will candidate in the fall and stand for election by the whole Congregation at the December meeting of the Congregation.

If for any reason Reverend Kanter or the search committee decides he is not the right candidate, then the search committee would begin an open search according to UUA guidelines.

4. Why aren’t there multiple candidates with Daniel competing in a broader search?

The UUA puts very few restrictions on the ministerial search process, but it does require that Congregations decide about internal candidates before beginning a full, open search.  This rule reflects the respect, trust, and mutual understanding required to build a successful relationship between ministers and Congregations.  Ministers already serving the community want thoughtful consideration.  Candidates in an open search want fair and equal consideration, with none beginning as “insiders.”  Congregations want a minister with the needed competencies, but also someone with the intangible personal and spiritual qualities to lead.  It is believed that those qualities reveal themselves best in a process that balances the competitive and relational aspects of the search.

5. What is the process if Daniel is not the choice?

If the search committee or Reverend Kanter decides that he is not the right candidate for the Senior Minister position, the committee will begin a broader search by requesting names of available candidates from the UUA, prepare materials, and initiate an outside search.  Once the search is narrowed to a single candidate, that individual will be presented to the Board for validation.  If the Board approves the candidate, the individual will candidate with the Congregation, and the congregation will then vote.

6. Will my voice be heard?

In establishing the profile for our Senior Minister/CEO the committee will use a number of information gathering processes and no single technique will be more important than any other.  The committee needs both statistical and anecdotal information from the Congregation in developing the profile.  Every member of the Congregation will receive a survey asking for their insights, and the committee will provide both formal and informal means for further conversation, including public and focus group meetings.  Watch the DU and this website for details.  From this gathered information will emerge a profile to measure the attributes and vision of any Senior Ministerial candidate. 

7. What is Laurel’s role in the search committee’s process?

Laurel’s role, as desired by the committee and Laurel, is limited to informing the committee of the workings of the church and the various roles that a Senior Minister /CEO plays in those workings.  This will include the Senior Minister’s relationships with the staff, the Board and the various parts that make up the whole of the church community. 

8. What is the timeline for the work of the committee?

The committee will be in the information gathering process to determine the profile for the Senior Minister/CEO through the spring and into the first part of the summer.  This will include the congregational survey and a variety of public conversations. During the summer the committee will agree on a profile for the Senior Minister and begin the dialog with Daniel in late summer or early fall.

If Daniel is the candidate, he will be submitted to the board in the fall of 2007 and will likely candidate and be voted on by the Congregation before the end of this year. 

If Daniel declines the position, or, if the search committee does not recommend Daniel, or, if the Congregation does not vote to call Daniel to the Senior Minister position, the broader search will begin at that time.
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