First Church Opts to Pursue Contract-to-Call Ministry

At the November 20th meeting, your Standing Committee voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Search Team to enter search for a new minister under the terms of “contract-to-call” ministry instead of settled ministry as originally chosen. Contract-to-call differs from settled ministry in several important ways, but the primary difference is in the clear definition of a contract period. We also accepted the Search Team’s recommendation that we offer a three-year contract. The contract-to-call process also specifies that the possibility of calling the minister to “settled” ministry at the conclusion of the contract will be considered in the third year.

Why did the Search Team make this recommendation? In its consultation with congregation and after careful consideration, the team identified these factors:

●       As First Church is grappling with significant financial challenges in the current period, honesty and transparency require that we be clear with candidates that church operations may change significantly in the next few years, during the contract period.

●       We continue to work on several community-building elements, such as a Right Relations covenant, welcoming, and governance. A defined contract period allows us to set clear expectations as to priorities on which the minister would work with us; this also positions us much more favorably after three years of progress    

●       The contract period allows members and the minister to get to know each other. If a strong connection develops, the contract-to-call process includes the opportunity to begin the call to settlement in the third year.

A key question that all of us on the Standing Committee and Search Team raised was: what does this decision mean for the candidate pool? By pursuing this model, are we limiting the number or quality of candidates who may be interested? The reassuring guidance from the UUA was that this would not be the case. That is, the pool of candidates for contract-to-call ministry is essentially the same as the pool seeking settlement. The UUA also shared that contract searches are now much more common (there are more contract searches than settled for 2025), and thus would not be a deterrent for candidates. A three-year contract period is recommended, then, to reduce year-to-year anxiety on the part of candidates, and to provide sufficient stability to candidates who may need to relocate to the Salem area.

An important difference is that the Standing Committee makes the decision to hire a minister under contract-to-call terms, whereas the call to settled ministry requires a congregational vote. However, if a successful contract period leads to a desire to call the minister to settlement, that process would require a vote of the congregation. Church members would be able to participate in that process with a deeper understanding of the “fit” as well as clear expectations for the experience of our ministry together.

The Search Team and Standing Committee will be hosting an information/Q&A session on Sunday, December 15th, following the service. We look forward to your questions.

In fellowship,

Your Standing Committee and Search Team