The Transition Team at First Church in Salem from its formation in November 2022 up until and through June of 2023 has been busy learning what it means to be a congregation in transition. The members of the team are Deborah Greel, Jerrie Hildebrand, Eric Kenney, Patti Roka, and co-chairs Russell Lane and Melody Lee. We have been working under the guidance of our interim minister Rev. Jenny Rankin.

Our first order of business as a team was to write a covenant to guide our work together and remind us to bring our best selves to the table. Tackling this challenge helped us better understand some of the difficult dynamics at play within our congregation.

Next, we focused on the first of five UUA suggested interim goals: coming to terms with our past. We designed a series of Community Conversations to lead the congregation in a process of self-reflection and self-discovery. During these discussions we focused on the past five years of our congregational history. These included the departure of our long-time minister Jeff Barz-Snell, a one-year interim and search process to call a new settled minister, Elizabeth Ide, and her three-year tenure with us, which coincided with the challenges presented by Covid. Unpacking our varied responses to these events has given us a lot to talk about.

While there is still much to be done, we have begun to shift from blaming others for our difficulties, to working together to heal and repair our community. We on the Transition Team are grateful for the hard work and participation of the members of our congregation and the patient and expert guidance of Rev. Jenny. You have made our progress this year possible. 

In this section of the church’s website, you will find general information about the interim process, our team’s charge from the Standing Committee, our covenant, a timeline of what we accomplished in 2022-23, the results of our Transition Team survey (coming soon), and transcripts from the small groups in our Community Conversations (coming soon).

Do not hesitate to reach out to the Transition Team co-chairs or to a Transition Team member if you have any questions or want to offer a thought or comment. The Transition Team can be reached at fcis.transtition@gmail.com.

Click timeline below to open.