by Rob Geyer

On behalf of the Board, I wanted to take a minute to share with you where we are in the new minister search process.  In mid April the Board met and established a general timeline, created the green congregational survey forms, which were inserted in three Sunday bulletins and discussed the formulation of our Search Team.

A word before I go on. We very much appreciated all of your thoughtful survey input and want you to know how important it is to the Board that we reflect your spirit and desires during this whole process. And now back to the timeline.

On April 27, we submitted our Minister Information Packet to Unity’s Ministry Employment Coordinator for posting on Unity’s website. Our posting appeared on their site in early May and is also included in The Path, a national Unity newsletter. As Board representatives, Heather Diddel and Orisa Skipper are spearheading our Search Team process, which is split into two parts. First, part of the team will review all resumes we receive and then conduct two phone interviews with each candidate. It is anticipated that this will occur from mid May through late June. And second, part of the team will serve as a “welcoming committee”. Upon a candidate’s arrival for his or her weekend “interview”, Search Team members will provide transportation and orientation to help introduce the candidates to the Capital District.

From early July through possibly late August, candidates will come to Unity Church in Albany to spend a weekend with us. We anticipate this will include their participation in a Saturday workshop/program, our 10am Sunday service, followed by a “get to know you” meeting in our Fellowship Hall and concluding with their participation in our 6pm Sunday evening service. All of you are encouraged to attend one or all functions and to provide your insights and feedback using forms that will be provided. In late August or early September, we expect to be able to make a decision to extend an offer to a candidate to come to Unity Church in Albany with the idea that they will accept and arrive here in mid to late September.

You are encouraged and welcome to ask questions or provide your thoughts to any Board member at any time during this process. Our greatest desire is to affirm our community’s spiritual consciousness and draw to us the exact right new minister. And so it shall be.

One more thing. We will indeed have a magical celebration for Jim and Kay before they leave for their next adventure. Details will be shared once we get closer to the date…but please keep September 6 and September 13 open on your calendars.