Our changing ministry

Ministry is changing.   Change isn't new, but there is less anxiety when we take note of the changes before they are too advanced.

While there is controversy about just what is the oldest profession,  it is clear that nearly all human communities set aside some individuals for religious leadership,  shaman, keeper of wisdom, priest,  sage and more recently the professional clergy.   In the United States,  Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and Unitarian Universalists have similar credentialling requirements for professional clergy.   Undergraduate education,  a graduate level professional school that contributes to formation,  a  selection process supervised by the faith community,  and various kinds of supervised practical experience. 

Unitarian Universalist ministry three decades ago was made up mostly of men, mostly of white men, mostly of men who went to theological school soon after graduating from college, and mostof these ministers would then  serve  congregations of  small to middling size.   A few had careers as teachers, denomination officials, and chaplains,  but it was not a large number.

All of that has changed, and our ministry continues to evolve.   We are increasing the number of ministers of color,   over half of our ministers are women,  our theological students more often than not have had a previous career, and a significant number of ministers will never serve a congregation as the sole pastor. 

The Unitarian Universalist Minister's Association has just completed its fall meetings, which included discussions with the U.U.A. staff  most closely concerned with ministry.   There are changes  ahead for our ministry,  we discussed some of those changes, and at future meeting we will discuss others.  Our whole minstry will be involved in those discussions. 

I will post my thoughts on this subject in a series of posts.   I would welcome your thoughts.