Agreement Among Pastoral and Program Staff for Moving Forward
October 9.2024
United Church of Christ policy allows for pastors currently serving a church to consider being candidates for other pastoral positions, including the Senior Minister. There has been much conjecture about your current pastors, Grant Glowiak and Robb Knuepfer considering applying for the Senior Minister position. There has also been conjecture about the call of Stephen Edwards, Director of Music, now exploring a call to ordained ministry.
You have very capable staff members. It makes sense to turn to them and validate their ministry by saying, “You should be our Senior Minister.” The challenge with this is that it puts them in an awkward position at this time. Wanting any of them to make a verbal comment to this thought, might alleviate concerns for perceived stability at the moment, but does not allow room for discernment. It also threatens to create “camps,” supporters who are well-intentioned and passionate, lining up behind one of your staff members. This has the potential to create conflict in a time when what the church needs is for everyone to unite in community. This is especially true when there have been times of conflict in a congregation’s history.
Grant, Robb and Stephen are in a process of discernment. They should be allowed to discern and consider, while also serving in their current capacities. The church should also be granted the space to discern and reflect about your needs as a community, thinking about needs and capacities. When a Search Committee is formed, it should have the ability to conduct an open and confidential search.
In partnership with Grant Glowiak, Robb Knuepfer and Stephen Edwards, along with UCC Conference Minister Shernell Edney-Stilley, Acting Head of Staff Penny Johnson and HR Chair Claudine Altenbern, an agreement has been crafted and your staff has signed it, outlining how to address the issues around the possibility of current staff members eventually applying for the Senior Minister position. Read the Agreement here.
Thank you for honoring this agreement for the health of the Union Church Congregation.
Adriana Kieffer (She/her/hers)
Office Administrative Assistant
Phone: 630-590-6689
Email: AKieffer@UCHinsdale.org
137 S. Garfield St. Hinsdale, IL 60521
www.hinsdale.church
Church Consulting vs Corporate Consulting: Transitional Ministry Pathways and Union Church
Jan Nolting Carter, Transitional Ministry Pathways
October 9, 2024
Getting to know a new friend when I served a church in Washington DC, I explained what I do. “I help churches in transition figure out their identity here and now. Along the way, we assess the system and work together to address issues before the new leader arrives.”
A federal prosecutor at the time, a corporate attorney now, my friend said, “You are the McKinsey of churches.” It made me laugh.
Yes. Sort of.
My friends who have been consultants, some even working for McKinsey, have done the work of coming into companies, assessing the corporate dynamics and have made recommendations for action. They write reports, lots of reports. Some are followed; some are not. They offer an outside perspective that people on the inside cannot see. They establish systems to make things more efficient, more profitable and more competitive. In the best of work, they establish best practices.
As we have listened to close to 75 people one on one or in your Ministry Teams, we have heard over and over, “We find joy in the community of Union Church. . . we were invited into this community by [names of people–all different].” You are an inviting community, an inclusive community.” You are a church, not a corporation. That said, there are best practices that are business. There are also best practices that are church.
As your transition consultants, our goal is to help you be the best YOU, the best Union Church, you can be. In a transition, this means taking a step back and looking at your community as a system, evaluating what works and what doesn’t work as well and doing a deep dive into God’s call for you as a congregation, looking at who you are, what you want to carry forward that is important and what you want to dream into being. Knowing who you are in this particular time, in this particular place, in this particular context will guide you to identify the characteristics you want in a new Senior Minister.
We are working with your Team of 7 (Mary Sue Honigschmidt, Penny Davey, Claudine Altenbern, Cindy Klima, Laurie McMahon, Christy Weimer and Penny Johnson) and the Executive Council to assess your current systems. This includes HR processes and accountability, updating job descriptions to include transition responsibilities and other things. We will offer best church practices for consideration, grounding them in biblical and theological foundations in our shared Reformed Theology.
Tonight we start the work of the Discovery Team. This team will facilitate the work of discernment: taking a look at the demographics of your community, conducting a survey of the congregation and conducting Listening Sessions to hear from as many of you as possible. They will write a report with recommendations to the congregation. Our job is to coach and facilitate the process, not to tell you what to do.
This is an organic process. We are following a Proposed Timeline that we agreed to alongside our contract. Click here for the Proposed Timeline. We understand the anxiety in the congregation to “get going” and are mindful of it. We also have a lot of experience that points to this reality: the better the work of discernment, the better the search process and the more successful the next pastorate.
Each week, you will find an update on our progress and things to think about here. How participate in the process?
• Know what is going on; read our weekly updates
• Pray for Union Church and its process of discernment
• Participate in all of the activities organized by the Discovery Team
• Continue to be active in church life in all the ways you currently are–you are the church!
Meet the Discovery Team!
In worship on Sunday, we affirmed the call of the Discovery Team to serve as the facilitators of the discernment process as Union Church seeks to identify who you are as a congregation in this particular time and place in your life together.
The members of the Discovery Team are: Maria Coyne, Chris Happ, David Hess, Kim Kiyosaki, Ann Reiland, Jackie Roberts, Brooks Hibner and Rob Shaeffer.
The Discovery Team was selected through suggestions from the congregation and the deliberation of the Team of 7, seeking individuals who have the ability to listen carefully and ask good questions. Other qualities essential for the team include the ability to be able to look at the big picture and the ability to work collaboratively. Click here to meet the Team.
Circling Back to Move Forward: Retreat Summary from September 28
Sixty people gathered for our retreat on Saturday, September 28, Circling Back to Move Forward. The retreat is part of our journey together as we move through the steps necessary before forming a Search Committee to call a new pastor.
What did we do together?
- We became more acquainted with one another, including getting to know Shernell Edney-Stilley, Associate Conference Minister for Transitions, Jan Nolting Carter and Paul Rhebergen
- Shared a Covenant of Presence for our time together (from Another Way: Leading Change on Purpose, Chalice Press, 2020)
- Learned about the process of transition
- Shared stories about life together as Union Church, putting sticky notes on a timeline that put names and joining dates, the time when the church felt most like the church, the time when the church felt least like the church, the griefs you have shared as a congregation and the world and regional events that have shaped your life together. Add your sticky notes to the timeline!
- Talked about ways in which grief, generational theory, context, and congregational systems affect our life together
Over the next few weeks, more details about the information shared at the retreat and the process we are experiencing will be shared in our weekly eBlast.
If you have any questions about the process, speak with the Team of 7: Mary Sue Honigschmidt (Moderator), Penny Davey (Vice Moderator), Claudine Roberts (Chair of HR), Laurie McMahon (Clerk), Cindy Klima (Chair of Trustees), Christy Weimer (Assistant Treasurer), Penny Johnson (Acting Head of Staff).
Plan your Saturday
ALL CHURCH RETREAT
Sept 28 – 9am-3:00pm
Dear Members of Union Church,
The All-Church Retreat is an important way to participate in the process of our
Search for a New Senior Minister
We need to identify who we are as a church in our current world,
and who we want to be moving forward.
Our professional consultants will be there to guide us through this process.
We have important work to do together!
We want to hear your voice!
Please come so that you can be part of what is next in the life of our church!
Thank you!
Mary Sue Honigschmidt
Moderator, Union Church of Hinsdale
September 26, 2024
All Church Retreat
This Saturday, September 28, 9:00 to 3:00 p.m., in the Dining Room (lower level)
Bagels and coffee in the morning. Lunch by Chef Sherry at noon.
This is your way to participate in the process of our Search for a New Senior Minister. Jan Nolting Carter and Paul Rhebergen, our transition consultants, along with Associate Conference Minister Shernell Edney Stilley, will provide helpful information to guide us and get us thinking. We will have conversations with each other. We have important work to do together, and we want to hear your voice!
Here is a video from Jan and Paul giving details on their work so far and what to expect at the retreat on Saturday.
Please come so that you can be part of what is next in the life of our church!
September 9, 2024
Dear Members of Union Church,
During August, and continuing into September, our consultants, Jan Nolting Carter and Paul Rhebergen have been very busy meeting. Meetings have been held with:
• Each staff member
• Human Resources
• Each of the Ministries
• Other strategic individuals
Jan and Paul have asked questions and listened in order to help form a broader picture of whom we, as Union Church, have been in the past and want to become in the future. They have also been working with our UCC Conference leader to be sure we are following UCC guidelines as we progress on our New Senior Minister Search. They will write a summary report of their findings.
During September, the Discovery Team will be formed. We invite each of you to nominate people you would like to see on this team and tell us the reasons why. You may recommend more than one person and you may recommend yourself. You may use the Discovery Team Nominations Form for this or you can simply email the names to Mary Sue or call Mary Sue with your names. The form is attached and extra forms will be available in the Gathering Place.
Qualifications for being on the Discovery Team should include:
• Willingness and ability to invest the necessary time
• Sense of creativity and openness to change; a willingness to advocate for needed change
• Willingness to listen to all persons and perspectives
• Be able to work with numbers around membership, finances, community demographics
• Ability to communicate with each other and with the congregation
• To be creative in envisioning new possibilities
All nominations must be submitted by Monday, September 23. The Team of 7 will select the Discovery Team members from the names submitted. The Discovery Team will be announced at the All-Church Retreat on Saturday, September 28, and the Team will be commissioned during church on Sunday, September 29.
September 28, from 9:00-3:00 will be our All-Church Retreat
September 29, Jan and Paul will preach during our 10:00 worship Service and the Discovery Team will be commissioned
During the months of October and November, the Discovery Team will be examining such things as:
• Who are we as a church? Who do we want to be?
• What are our opportunities and challenges?
• How does church fit into our community today?
• What was our best church in the past? Where do we want to be in 5 years?
• Is the church staffed for our emerging mission?
• Interview with local leaders
• Have Conversations with colleague churches
• Demographic study of the area around the church
The Discovery Team will do this by learning from our shared ideas at our Retreat on September 28, creating an all-church survey, having listening sessions with people in small groups during the months of October and November, and other forms of outreach to be determined.
During December, the Discovery Team will write up their report summarizing their findings. Human Resources will use this information to write a job description for our New Senior Minister.
When the work of the Discovery Team is done, we will begin asking for nominations from the Congregation for 10 people to be on the Search Committee for the New Minister. Two of the people on the Discovery Team will be on the Search Committee. Per our Constitution, half of the people on the Search Committee will be selected from Executive Council, and half will be selected from members-at-large. We want all aspects of our congregation represented on the Search Committee.
Early in the year, once the Search Committee is formed, we will begin actively looking for our New Senior Pastor.
Searching for a New Senior Minister is a process. It takes time. We must listen…to each other, to our consultants, to others in our world who have been through this process. Please keep Union Church and our time of transition in your prayers. We must listen carefully, quietly and patiently to God for him to show us the way.
Very Sincerely,
Mary Sue Honigschmidt
Moderator, Union Church of Hinsdale
Cell: 630-235-0738
Home: 630-986-1853
marysue@red-works.com
Save the Date
All Church Retreat
Circling Back to Move Forward
Saturday, September 28, 9:00-3:00 p.m.
To move forward in our search for a senior minister, we will come together for a Saturday retreat to circle back and share some congregational history. Jan Nolting Carter and Paul Rhebergen, our transition consultants, will guide us as we begin the process of working on our vision of who we are as a church. As with any family gathering, we’ll eat together and share stories. Bagels will be served in the morning and lunch will also be provided. Also plan to attend the 10:00 service, the next morning, September 29th, when Jan and Paul will both be preaching.
August 18,2024
New Minister Search – Update
Dear Members of Union Church,
For those of you who were unable to attend today’s worship service in person, I would like to share with you the link to view it. Today, Grant provided this week’s sermon and while I encourage you to take time to listen to the entire service, I want to highlight the sermon because it was extremely relevant to where we are as a church going through transition and our journey to find a new Senior Minister.
click here:
Union Church of Hinsdale | Sunday, August 18, 2024 | 10am Worship
As always, I encourage you to check the Union Church website for updates:
Union Church of Hinsdale – Church for anybody and everybody
or reach out to me directly if you have any questions about the process.
Very sincerely,
Mary Sue
Mary Sue Honigschmidt
Moderator, Union Church of Hinsdale
Cell: 630-235-0738
Home: 630-986-1853
marysue@red-works.com
August 8, 2024
Dear Members of Union Church,
This Sunday, August 11th, is our final day with Mike Solberg as our Senior Minister. We hope you will join in worship and come to his farewell reception in Rowell Hall after the 10:00 a.m. service. We are so very grateful for Mike’s eleven years with us and for all he has shared. We have learned so very much from his leadership and we are going to miss him very much.
The Team of 7 church officers, Executive Council, and Trustees have agreed upon a proposed plan and contract with Transitional Ministry Pathways consultants, Jan Nolting Carter and Paul Rhebergen. Jan and Paul bring over 60 years of intentional transitional ministry experience. They will provide leadership and guidance throughout the process of searching for a new pastor and support our ongoing needs during this time of transition. Importantly, they will assist us with the most efficient process to successfully identify a minister that is a good fit for our church family moving forward.
Soon we will be forming a Pastoral Search Preparation Team of nine members to lead in assessing our needs as a church. This will include: discovering who we are without Mike, our opportunities and challenges, and where we would like to be as a church in five years. The Preparation Team will review our Mission Statement, and gather other insights though a church wide survey. All of this valuable information will help us write a job description for our next Senior Minister.
A Search Committee will be formed very early in the new year. It will be made up of ten members, half of whom are on Executive Council and half who represent our church family, including two Preparation Team members. Once formed, the Search Committee will begin their work utilizing the insight gathered by the Pastoral Search Preparation Team.
For both of these teams, we would like members of the congregation to nominate people, stating why they think these people would be good members of the team. People may nominate themselves. Executive Council with support from Transitional Ministry Pathways will create each of these teams utilizing the nominated members, selecting people from all aspects of the congregation.
We invite you to be part of this process either by being part of one of these teams or by staying informed and engaged. Our intention is to all work on this process as thoughtfully and intentionally as possibly, yet with deliberate speed. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas.
Sincerely,
Mary Sue Honigschmidt,
Moderator, Union Church
August 6, 2024
Click here to read “A Farewell Message from Mike”
July 16,2024
Transition Update… The Steps Ahead
In preparation for the time of transition between Mike and the call of a new senior minister, we have received good guidance from the Rev. Dr. Jan Nolting Carter, a specialist in transitional ministry. Jan has met with Staff, the Executive Council, and the Team of 7 formed by Moderator Mary Sue Honigschmidt. This team includes the church officers, plus the chairs of Trustees and HR. As shared with the congregation after worship July 14, the following steps are currently ahead of us:
- This is our time for a good goodbye with Mike.
July 24, 6:30-8 p.m.-Ice Cream Sundae Reception for Mike and Janine
Families Invited
Honigschmidts’ Backyard
222 North Adams, Hinsdale
August 11 Sendoff Sunday and Appreciation Celebration for Mike
Following Worship in Rowell Hall
- Breathe
No one wants this process to drag out, but we need to do it well.
We are actually ahead of the game. - A decision will be made regarding:
Calling a traditional interim pastor
or
Hiring to fill roles to support the staff and ministry while using specialists to guide us through discernment and transition
- A Discernment Team will be formed to manage a time of reflection.
This is a time to find out~ Who we are, Where do we see ourselves in 5 years?
and Who do we want to be in the future? - The Executive Council will determine the nomination process that will be used to gather names to form a Search Committee.
July 2, 2024
Dear Members of Union Church,
I wanted to let you know that the Team of 7* is actively moving the transition process forward.
We have to date:
- Developed plans for celebrating Mike’s ministry together
- Met with transitional consultant Reverend Dr. Jan Nolting Carter of Transitional Ministry Pathways for guidance in thinking through the transition
- Met with UCC Associate Conference Minister, Shernell Edney Stilley, and have another meeting scheduled for July 24
- Scheduled a weekend with Jan Nolting Carter July 13-14 where she will educate leadership about transitional processes and answer questions of staff, leadership, and the congregation
We are convinced of several things:
- God will be with us through this transition. While we may wish to know the exact timing of things, if we are intentional, prayerful, and working together, the process will unfold in the right way.
- Transition involves a process of identifying who we have been, where we are now, and where God is calling us into the next chapter of our congregation’s life together. Once we know where we want to go as a church, we can search for the right person to lead us.
- The process must be engaged in a timely manner.
What can you do right now?
- Attend 10:00 worship on July 14 and stay for the Transition Question and Answer Time, 11:15-12:00, a time for the congregation to learn more from Jan.
- Plan to attend the Backyard Dessert Reception and Celebration with Mike and Janine, on July 24, 6:30 to 8:00 pm hosted by Mary Sue and Jim Honigschmidt, 222 N. Adams, Hinsdale.
- Plan to attend worship and Mike’s last sermon on Sunday, August 11, and our celebration in Rowell Hall immediately after the 10:00 am service.
- Watch for our regular communications about the transition and its process. Note the new “Transition…” tab on our website home page: https://hinsdale.church/
- Keep Union Church staff, ministries, and our time of transition in your prayers.
Very sincerely,
Mary Sue
Moderator, Union Church of Hinsdale
Cell: 630-235-0738
Home: 630-986-1853
marysue@red-works.com
New Minister Search – Update
Dear Members of Union Church,
I have formed a “Team of 7” people to initially guide us in this time of transition leading to our search for a new Senior Minister:
- Mary Sue Honigschmidt, Moderator
- Penny Davey, Vice-Moderator
- Laurie McMahon, Clerk
- Kevin Manning, Treasurer
- Christy Weimer, Assistant Treasurer
- Cindy Klima, Chair of Trustees
- Claudine Altenbern, Chair of Human Resources
I would like to outline for you what we have begun to plan.
At Mike’s suggestion, we have hired a capable consultant who specializes in transitional ministries, Jan Nolting Carter. Her guidance has been invaluable. We have already begun to make plans and we will continue to keep you updated as we move forward.
Our church staff and associate clergy are very important to us. We want to support them through the transition process. HR (Human Resources) will be meeting with the staff on Tuesday to determine just how the work of the church will be accomplished after Mike leaves. There is much planning to be done.
HR- Human Resources is made up of:
- Claudine Altenbern, Chair
- Penny Davey, also Vice Moderator
- Ed Spacapan, former Moderator
- Nadine Woodle, former Moderator
- Ha-Andza Young, new member
- Mary Sue Honigschmidt, Moderator
As part of the “Roar” series this summer, Mike had invited Jan Nolting Carter to preach on Sunday, July 14. We have asked Jan to come a day early, as a consultant, to educate all of us about the goals and possibilities of an effective transition to a new pastor. Our weekend plans are as follows:
Saturday, July 13
10:00-11:30 am
Jan meets with Church Staff and Associate Pastors to discuss their roles during the transition
12:00-3:30 pm
Jan meets with Executive Council and HR for a more in-depth discussion of the transition and hiring of a new senior minister; buffet lunch
Sunday, July 14
10:00-11:00 am
Jan will preach at the 10:00n am service
11:15-12:00 pm
Jan will meet with the entire congregation to discuss the process and answer questions
When we meet with Jan Nolting Carter on July 13-14, we will learn a lot, including the possibilities before us. We want our transition to a new pastor to be thoughtful and intentional. For simplicity, I, Mary Sue, as Moderator, will be the coordinator between staff, leadership, and the congregation as we go through this process. If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please, please do not hesitate to call me or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.
We have important work before us.
Very sincerely,
Mary Sue
Moderator, Union Church of Hinsdale
Cell: 630-235-0738
Home: 630-986-1853
marysue@red-works.com
June 12, 2024
Fellow Members of Union Church,
For over a decade, Union Church has been very fortunate to benefit from the ministry of the Rev. Dr. J. Michael Solberg. Mike has led us, taught us, cared for us, and inspired us. His many talents and personal qualities have helped to make our church stronger. He has connected us to fellow Christians in Angola, challenged us to work with closer neighbors as we have strived to accomplish the goal of quality preschool for all, and supported us to be able to officially become an even more welcoming body of Christ. On our journey to understand faith and our place in the world as Christians, we have been energized by the steering and stirring of Mike’s ministry.
As Mike accepts a new call for his ministry and he and Janine move closer to their family, it is not easy to say farewell. We care for them and support them in this move. We celebrate the United Church of Christ’s respect for a minister’s ability to choose where to live and serve. We will draw upon our congregational strength as we anticipate this time of transition.
We, the members of Executive Council, will lay out the next steps and set plans in motion for the call of a new Senior Minister. We and the church staff will collaborate to assure continuation of the work and needs of the congregation. Look to hear from us again on these matters by the end of June.
Union Church will continue to move forward, building on Mike’s leadership of the past 11 years and the foundation of over 150 years of our church ministry. Union Church is strong and will continue to build in faith and vision for how God’s work can be accomplished. We can look forward to continued growth and service.
As we take on our next tasks, we know you will join us in wishing Mike and Janine the very best for their next phase of life and service. Parting will be tender. We’ll be planning some leave-taking events, and will announce those opportunities soon.
Our gratitude for all of Mikes’ work with us is deep, as is the sincerity we feel in wishing him well as his and our faith journeys continue.
In the connected love of Christ,
Union Church Executive Council Members
June 12, 2024
Dear People of Union Church,
With great gratitude for the privilege of serving this wonderful congregation for the past eleven years, I am writing to inform you that I have accepted a call to become the Transitional/Interim Senior Minister at First Church (UCC), Cambridge, Massachusetts. My final Sunday here at Union Church will be August 11.
I am so grateful for the work we have done together over the last several years. I believe the congregation has grown in faith and discipleship, and although facing significant societal headwinds, we are moving forward as a truly healthy, hopeful, and flourishing congregation. We have experienced the joy of the Gospel and faced important and difficult issues head on. I have appreciated the opportunity to care for you in tender moments, and to be cared for as well. With fantastic lay leadership and a strong staff, you are well positioned to follow God’s lead into the future.
My decision to leave is primarily based on my sense that God is leading me to a new place. While I do certainly mean that spiritually, I don’t mean it “magically.” In this, as in many important things, I have found God’s guidance to be subtle. Perhaps surprisingly, given how many things are “percolating” in the church, I have a sense of completion about my ministry here. Certainly the work is not finished – ministry and discipleship never are – but I feel I have been of good use and now it is time to allow the congregation to be blessed by the faith, priorities, and skills of another Sr. Minister. Family considerations have also come into play, as Janine and I think it is important for us to be closer to at least one of our children at this point in our lives.
Of course, I also have a real sense of grief about leaving. I love and respect you, and you have been great partners on my own journey of faith. I will miss you deeply. I also recognize with a heavy heart the grief and concern for the future many of you will feel. I know, however, that you are in the best hands possible, God’s hands, and God will be with you in all things. You are also in the hands and hearts of a wonderful group of leaders, who will guide you in making good decisions, both in the short term and long term.
A letter from the Executive Council is also included here (see other side), and for the most part, information about “what comes next” will be coming directly from them. I will be focusing on closing off my ministry here and saying healthy goodbyes.
With more warmth and gratitude than ever, I say, may the peace of Christ be with you.
Peace,
Mike Solberg