Notifying CRS of a "Call Pending"

Call (888) 728-7228, x8550 or send email, mail, or fax to inform CRS of the effective date of the call. This is necessary to end the Church Leadership Connection process for you and the church, and it will prevent other churches from getting your PIF and being disappointed to learn you have accepted a call.

Dissolving the Pastoral Relationship

Although most of your attention will be focused on the call to the new place, it is important that you say also pay attention to how you say your "good-byes." Good closure is essential for the spiritual and emotional well-being of both the church leader and the congregation.

G-14.0601 The pastoral relationship between a pastor, associate pastor, or assistant pastor and a church may be dissolved only by presbytery. (See G-6.0202c)

When a pastor announces her or his acceptance of a call to another congregation, the present congregation often experiences a variety of emotions — sadness, anger, sometimes betrayal or relief. It is very important that the pastor's exit is handled well — for the benefit of all concerned. Members and pastor need time and opportunity to celebrate their ministry together and to say goodbye. It is important that the exit time be neither so short that good-byes do not get said nor so long that everyone is ready to move on before the actual departure date.

The minister will inform the session and the presbytery and then shortly thereafter share the news with the congregation. The session calls a congregational meeting to act on the minister's request that the relationship be dissolved. The congregational action becomes a recommendation to presbytery. Many presbyteries grant authority to the COM to dissolve the pastoral relationship and to inform the presbytery in cases in which the congregation and the pastor concur.

A Word About Your Relationship With A Former Congregation

The COM will probably conduct an "exit interview" with you and then separately with your session. This is an opportunity to reflect on the ministry you had together, its strengths and weaknesses, and things to be worked on in the months ahead.

The Book of Order (G-14.0606) requires that you receive an invitation from the moderator of session prior to officiating "at services for members of a particular church, or at services within its properties." It is important for the future of the congregation and for the memory of your ministry in a former congregation that you disengage as completely as possible. Friendships can be maintained but providing pastoral services or discussing the life of the congregation with its members should cease.

Worship Recognition of the Beginning of a Ministry

Ordination and installation services are presbytery services, led by a presbytery-appointed commission. While you have hopes for the style of the service and want special friends to participate, you must follow the policies of the presbytery. It is wise to include people who have special relationships with the church, such as the COM liaison who worked with the church through the search process. Either the moderator of the presbytery or other presbytery leader will chair the commission and have a particular role in the service. Many presbyteries ask that an offering be taken for a particular presbytery cause.

An Outline for the Service of Worship

On the day designated for the installation, the presbytery or commission appointed for this purpose shall convene and shall call the congregation gathered to worship. The service shall focus on Christ and the joy and responsibility of the mission and ministry of the church, and shall include a sermon appropriate to the occasion. The stages of the installation service are as follows:

Statement of Purpose. (by moderator or chair of the Commission, following the sermon) Moderator or chair says something about the theology of call, the process of preparation for ministry, the process of call, and our Presbyterian understanding of the work of the Spirit in this process; describes installation as an act of presbytery; and acknowledges the commission representing presbytery.

Presentation of the Candidate. (by an elder, perhaps chair of the PNC) "Speaking for the people of the church, I bring __________ to be installed as pastor, associate pastor, etc."

Constitutional Questions to the Candidate. (by moderator or chair of the commission)

1. Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
2. Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the church universal, and God's Word to you?
3. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?
4. Will you be a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and continually guided by our confessions?
5. Will you be governed by our church's polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God's Word and Spirit?
6. Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?
7. Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church?
8. Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?
9. Will you be a faithful minister, proclaiming the good news in Word and Sacrament, teaching faith, and caring for people? Will you be active in government and discipline, serving in the governing bodies of the church; and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?

Constitutional Questions to the Congregation. (elder from the congregation)

1. Do we, the members of the church, accept _________ as our pastor (associate pastor), chosen by God through the voice of this congregation to guide us in the way of Jesus Christ?
2. Do we agree to encourage him (her), to respect his (her) decisions, and to follow as he (she) guides us, serving Jesus Christ, who alone is Head of the church?
3. Do we promise to pay him (her) fairly and provide for his (her) welfare as he (she) works among us; to stand by him (her) in trouble and share his (her) joys? Will we listen to the word he (she) preaches, welcome his (her) pastoral care, and honor his (her) authority as he (she) seeks to honor and obey Jesus Christ our Lord?

Prayer of Installation. (member of commission) Candidate may kneel or stand (no laying on of hands for installation).

Declaration of Installation. The member presiding shall then say: "_________, you are now a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in and for this congregation. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen." Symbols of office may be offered (Bible, chalice, baptismal bowl, stole, etc.).

Welcome by the Commission. (members of the commission greet new pastor)

Charge to the Pastor. (by member of the commission)

Charge to the Congregation. (by a member of the commission)

Brief Statement and Benediction. (by new pastor)

After the service, the officers and members of the church should be invited to come forward to greet their pastor and give him or her an appropriate expression of cordial reception and affectionate regard. The installation of a minister as pastor or associate pastor of more than one church may take place in a joint service, provided each church is present and answers for itself the constitutional questions.

Source: See Book of Occasional Services, Office of Theology and Worship, Geneva Press, 1999 for other appropriate services.

Orientation and Support in Your New Ministry

It is critical that the church and pastor make an intentional plan for effective entry and support. The relationship that you have built with the PNC must now be extended to the session and others with whom you will work. It is best that the PNC be dissolved after the installation service and the session become the primary group relating to the pastor. This relationship is one of mutual support and care as pastor and session build an effective ministry together.

The presbytery also provides support for the pastor. It may offer orientation programs, "New Pastor Seminars," peer support groups, and continuing education opportunities. Take advantage of these programs. The presbytery also provides pastoral care for ministers.

Sources:

The Pastor as Newcomer, Alban Institute, Bethesda, MD.

Here I Am, Lord, Now What? Transition and Survival in the First Parish, Fox, Susan E. and Hess, Kurtis C.; TAS²TE of Ministry, Pby of WV (304) 744-7634.

May God richly bless you as you enter a new phase in your ministry!