tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post8212114908294470248..comments2023-05-16T08:21:43.605-06:00Comments on iMinister: Ministerial AuthorityChristine Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02291622244158872449noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post-73137986824474486052010-03-17T20:32:48.333-06:002010-03-17T20:32:48.333-06:00thanks for this, Christine. I am going to the MFC ...thanks for this, Christine. I am going to the MFC on Saturday and feeling a bit nervous... This made me feel a bit more secure...stinal81https://www.blogger.com/profile/11107073967015883465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post-77321960007483399772009-02-16T17:12:00.000-07:002009-02-16T17:12:00.000-07:00In the end, including the repeat visits of those w...In the end, including the repeat visits of those who persevere, a very large percentage do pass...probably 80-90%. Whether they all should pass is, a problem which is even harder to talk about than whether some who were given a hard time should have been.Christine Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02291622244158872449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post-23902124699726227642009-02-16T00:54:00.000-07:002009-02-16T00:54:00.000-07:00What percentage of candidates don't pass this nerv...What percentage of candidates don't pass this nerve-wracking interview?kimchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14020798623317549440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post-18346857767993661752009-02-15T11:33:00.000-07:002009-02-15T11:33:00.000-07:00Ministerial presence is central element in this pr...Ministerial presence is central element in this profession. It is a profound expression of the nature of our relationships. This expression cannot be taught, only nurtured. The nurturing should begin in the candidate's sponsoring congregation and sparked by their recognition of the raw materials ogre references. This is my real concern. For too many ministers, the trek to fellowship begins in a place of isolation, even disconnection, away from the 'natal' community. With few exceptions, our congregations are poorly equipped for the nurture of a religious calling. Candidates are left to their own devices, like foster children who must figure out how to find their sustenance amid strangers. So the burden for discerning presence is transferred to an administrative body, the UUA's equivalent of the family court, the MFC.<BR/><BR/>The MFC should be a credentialling body, not a body of ministerial discernment. Unfortunately, they must step in or there would be no consciously discerning presence between the first inkling of a call and a congregational search committee.<BR/><BR/>I would love to see the UU Ministers Association take an active role in mentoring ministerial presence. Through chapter activities and by mentoring their congregations into the congregations' right role in the formation process, a healthy, empowering environment could be created and sustained.<BR/><BR/>FYI, moving in this direction would be a great growth strategy, too. It would enrich the relationship be church and minister and create a powerful and attractive congregational presence, the heart of our covenant tradition.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11761758353582625863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post-2320780410151854652009-02-08T17:51:00.000-07:002009-02-08T17:51:00.000-07:00I agree, Ogre, that calm presence is an aspect, pe...I agree, Ogre, that calm presence is an aspect, perhaps even a pre-condition of ministerial presence. And that it's much less mysterious to identify it and talk about it. Perhaps that's the quality that should be looked for in Preliminary Fellowship.Christine Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02291622244158872449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28809213.post-32405152589672315082009-02-08T17:16:00.000-07:002009-02-08T17:16:00.000-07:00Having come through the RSCC appointment recently,...Having come through the RSCC appointment recently, I think that calm under pressure tends to pass for ministerial authority. Not being flustered when you get the weird question that has no good answer, and not imploding when you give one not good answer that you'd like to take back and revise....<BR/><BR/>Raw material, perhaps, for ministerial authority, ministerial presence. Understood that way--does this individual appear to have some/most/enough of the raw materials from which he/she can develop and build a ministerial presence and authority--it might be far less stressful for the interviewee (and more comprehensible!), and easier for the committee to see what it's looking for, even when it's not all there--yet. Or to see where there's a serious hole, and be able to label it in a useful and meaningful way.ogrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910505029382522110noreply@blogger.com