Q & A about the search process

Frequently asked questions:

Who is on the Search Committee?
Jerry Tisser, Chair
Tony DiBella
Doris Duarte
Dee Lovecky
Carolyn Marshall
Janet Searles
Joe Souza
    
Why has the search process taken so long?
Following Fred Gillis’ retirement from a long and successful 26 year ministry, the Board decided to follow the Unitarian Universalist Association guidelines for our search.  We agreed to have a two year interim to process Fred’s departure, and to look at where we were and wanted to go.  An interim search committee selected Deborah Mero, who served for two years.  The search committee was selected at the end of her first year and conducted a search from August 2004-April 2005.  At the end of that search both of the candidates selected for ministry at Westminster chose other congregations to serve.  The congregation replaced one member of the committee and the search began again.  

Why does the congregation only get to see one candidate?
The reason that serial candidating – the process of presenting more than one candidate to the congregations – is frowned upon is that it tends to be destructive to the candidates and to the congregations to which they are presented.  Suppose one group likes and politics for Candidate A, another is for Candidate B, and still another for Candidate C.  The congregations could be split asunder before the process has been completed, and it unlikely that any candidate would receive the vote of confidence needed for a successful ministry.  From the point of view of the candidates, the confidentiality of the process would be broken and their effectiveness in their current congregations seriously impaired.  So, at the end of a long process of interviewing, evaluation, reference-checking, and consensus-building, your Search Committee is presenting the one candidate we feel is best for the congregation.  After a full week of Sunday services, meetings, and social engagements, when you will be able to meet and size up the candidate for yourselves, you will make the final decision in the congregational vote to call the minister.

What process did the search committee use to decide on Barbara as our candidate?
This year we had 31 applicants for the position of Settled Minister at Westminster.  We exchanged packets with 15 of them and had 1 ½ to 2 hour telephone interviews with 11 of them.  We met and listened to six candidates – we had dinner on Friday evening, showed them our church property, East Greenwich and the surrounding area on Saturday morning, had an in-depth discussion and interview following a small group ministry exercise on Saturday afternoon.  We shared dinner on Saturday night, and on Sunday we drove to another Unitarian Universalist Church to hear the candidate preach.  We finished with a discussion over lunch with the candidate and a follow-up discussion/evaluation with just the committee.   The time we spent with each candidate in person was about 12-15 hours.  

After we had met with and listened to all the candidates, we met to discuss and analyze the final four (two candidates removed themselves before we finished hearing all the candidates.)

It was the unanimous decision of the committee to present Barbara Fast to the congregation for our new minister.  

What is Candidating Week?
Candidating Week is the time for the members and friends of Westminster to meet and get to know Barbara Fast.  She will be in pulpit on Sunday, April 23 and Sunday, April 30 to lead the worship services.  After the second service on April 23, the Search Committee will be hosting a brown bag lunch for all those who would like to stay to meet Barbara.  On April 30 after the service, there will be a congregational meeting to vote to call Barbara as our minister.

Candidating Week is a two-way street – the minister gets to meet the congregation, and we get to meet the minister.  In order to provide as many opportunities as possible for this to occur, we have planned a variety of activities during the week.  In addition to the scheduled activities (See Candidating Week Schedule) if you would like a quiet time to meet Barbara, please call Janet Searles or Carolyn Marshall, and we will try to arrange for that time.  Please realize that Barbara needs time to explore the area, to rest and relax, and to prepare for Sundays services.

Can I attend any event during candidating week?
All of the events are open to all members and friends, with the exception of the Women’s Group whose meeting is open to all women in the church.  The brown bag lunch on Sunday April 23, and the pot luck dinner on April 29 are sponsored by the Search Committee and the Board, so these events are certainly of a general nature.  The weekday evening meetings will be targeted to the topics arranged by the hosting committees. If you are interested in discussion of these topics, or just wish to meet Barbara in a more structured format than the all church social events, plan to come to one of the evening meetings.


What is a vote to “call” a minister?
The relationship between the minister and the congregation is not the same as between you and your employer.  Yes, we pay the minister to be the professional minister here.  However, ministry is much more than a job.  Most ministers have not only chosen the ministry but also have been chosen by it.  Barbara had a previous career as a lawyer and was called to the ministry.

As a congregation, we ask the minister to both lead us and also to walk with us in our religious journey.  A very special relationship develops between the minister and the individuals in the congregation.  We need to feel that this person is the best for the congregation – to lead us and for us to minister to each other.

When you vote to call a minister, she is not just the best for you, but best for the life of the congregation as a whole.  Many of us like one thing or something else about a specific minister.  However, this person will minister to the whole congregation.  Is she the best for that?

Who can vote to call the minister?
Any Active Member (per our By-Laws) of the congregation who is present on April 30 at the meeting may vote.  Our by-laws have no provision for absentee ballots or proxy ballots.  

How many people does it take to vote “yes” to call the minister?
In order to open the meeting to call a minister, 50% of the membership is required.  It is expected that a vote of 95-100% will be positively cast to call the minister.  With less than a 90% vote, the minister will probably not choose to come to Westminster.  

Why did the Search Committee select Barbara Fast?
From the first reading of her Ministerial Record (online application) to studying her packet, we were impressed by her experience, her writings, her warmth and her spirituality.  We all agreed we needed to speak with her on the phone.  After a lively conversation for over an hour, we asked her to come to East Greenwich to spend a weekend with us and to preach at a church in Massachusetts.  By Saturday afternoon of that weekend, we all realized that we needed to change our plans and get Barbara and Jonathan home before the expected blizzard came in earnest.

 If you have ever had a job interview with the ground rules changed in the middle of the interview, you can imagine the stress Barbara was under.  However, we all adjusted with grace and flexibility. With Jonathan at the piano, we shared a very intimate worship service in our Sanctuary.  Instead of a large number in the congregation as we had planned, Barbara’s congregation had 8 members.  She was warm and engaging, and the sermon had both the “head and heart” aspects that we were looking for.  We sang our hearts out and even had a sharing of joys and concerns and announcements, closing as we always do with Carry the Flame.  It was quite a weekend!!

Barbara’s experience as an Associate Minister involved all aspects of ministry from preaching to pastoral care, from Small Group Ministry to growing new leaders, from Social Action to loving the congregation.  Her genuine love for the ministry and for her former congregation was told to us over and over by her references.  We got to experience that same caring for the seven members of the search committee.  

In her packet she closes with the following statement about her journey to a new congregation, “Now that I am on this path I have no doubts about the wisdom of my choice.  I look forward to beginning again wholeheartedly in August 2006.”  When we called to let her know she was our choice, we said (as one), “Now that we are on this path, we have no doubts about the wisdom of our choice.  We look forward to beginning again wholeheartedly in August, 2006.”

Meet Rev. Barbara Fast

Barbara’s greeting to the Congregation

Our statement to the congregation
Why we chose Barbara

Getting to Know Barbara Fast

What is a Call?

A Brief Resume


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