A Curious Fable for Today's Pandemic-weary Church
Your work is to address the things left undone….
From the Pastoral Epistle to Titus
Chapter One: A Lament Rises Up in COM
The Commission on Ministry of ____ [N] Presbytery was meeting online, as had become their custom a year into the Pandemic. Nearing the end of a lengthy report on churches in need of pastors to lead a congregation through transitional ministry, it occurred to the Executive Presbyter to ask the more seasoned Stated Clerk, “why is it so hard for us to find Transitional Pastors?”.
“Well…”, the clerk replied aloud in a reflective tone, “There may be several reasons for the shortage we are experiencing, but I suspect the primary reason has to do with compensation.” The moderator quickly chimed in indicating that this shouldn't be the case because this presbytery requires churches to compensate transitional pastors within 5% of what their former pastor was paid. There must be more to it.
“I hear other presbyteries in our Synod are also having a hard time filling transitional ministry roles”, said the executive with a sigh. “Have you looked at the Synod jobs board recently? It is positively overflowing with posts about churches in need of pastors with transitional ministry training and experience. And my ecumenical colleagues say there is a shortage in their traditions as well.”
“Is the Pandemic to blame for our troubles?”asked a relative newcomer to the team. “I suppose in some measure, COVID may be contributing to scarcity, but it is not the sole reason. In truth, we have been finding it increasingly challenging to find transitional pastors willing to interview for openings for about a decade”, cited the clerk. A long pause ensued.
“If you have transitional ministry training”, the moderator asked, “hold up a hand. I want to see who actually knows what transitional ministry entails”. Two of twelve members of COM raised a hand. “Huh. That’s interesting. Tell us, why did each of you take the training?”.
The first pastor to speak said,” I signed up for the training on the recommendation of someone in my preaching group. She told me that the training can open doors in retirement to meaningful short-time ministry gigs. But I’ll be honest, the pastor added with a surprised tone in her voice, ``I'm already using the training in my installed role”.
“But I thought that transitional ministry training was primarily for interim pastors”, said the minute taker to the team. “You know, the pastors who serve between the departure of one pastor, and the calling of the next pastor. Interim pastors. It’s been our practice for ages to require churches to call an interim pastor following the departure of a pastor.”
“Yes”, said the second pastor whose hand was raised. Lowering his hand, he took a deep breath and said, “I’m new to this team, so you may not know my story. In brief, my first call was to serve a church between installed pastors. That was ten years ago. At the time I thought of it as a way to get started, while I waited for something better to come along.”
“But the funny thing is, I loved it! The training was good and the work helped me grow as a leader. I took three interim calls in a row. Each one more challenging than the one prior. I would have been happy to do more transitional ministry, perhaps made a career of it. But I grew tired of the anxiety between calls. The uncertainty and frequent moves grew hard to manage. Just about the time vitality was returning to the congregation, and around the time I found my way into a pastors group I enjoyed, it was time for me to move on. I had hoped to specialize in transitional ministry. But it did not appear to be possible. At least not for me.”
The Zoom room grew quiet. It was nearly the time for adjournment. ”I’d like to say one more thing before we close”, the lamenting pastor continued. “Like my colleague who first spoke up, in my current [installed] call, I too find that I draw on my transitional ministry knowledge and skills. I wish all of our pastors and presbytery staff had transitional ministry training. Perhaps eventually we might do so. But let’s not lose sight of the reality we are dealing with, transitional pastors are increasingly hard to find. I wonder what we might do as COM to help?”
A chorus of “God help us.” was heard. And with that, the meeting drew to a close.
~ ‘A Curious Fable’ reflects a storyline emerging from the author’s academic research on Transitional Ministry in the Presbyterian Church USA. The purpose of this study is to discover and propose a model for bridging the gap between the need for transitional pastors and the formation and sustaining of transitional pastorates in the PCUSA. The study engages the input of nearly ninety ecumenical pastors with transitional ministry experience.
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