Guidelines for Transition Teams - The United Church of Canada

Contents
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................5
Starting Out ...........................................................................................................................6
Recruitment and Appointment .............................................................................................10
Building the Team ................................................................................................................13
Setting the Plan ....................................................................................................................18
Encouraging the Congregation to Participate ........................................................................22
Gathering Information ..........................................................................................................26
Reviews ................................................................................................................................29
Transition Tasks ....................................................................................................................31
Evaluation, Reporting, and Closure ......................................................................................35
Appendixes
1. Excerpts from The Manual, 2007 ...........................................................................40
2. United Church Resources .....................................................................................41
3. Glossary ...............................................................................................................42
4. Developing the Interim Minister’s Position Description ........................................43
5. Setting Transition Team Norms and Values ...........................................................45
6. Sample Decision-Making Agreement ....................................................................49
7. Creating a Visual Timeline ....................................................................................50
8. Initial Small Group Conversations ........................................................................51
9. Planning Small Group Meetings ...........................................................................53
10. Planning Effective Congregational Meetings .......................................................54
11. Soliciting Information and Feedback ..................................................................55
12. Tips for Effective Reviews ...................................................................................56
13. The Mid-Term Review ........................................................................................57
14. Final Evaluation of the Interim Ministry .............................................................58
15. Evaluation of the Performance of the Interim Minister........................................59
16. Book List ............................................................................................................60
This resource, intended for members of Transition Teams, provides a detailed description of each
of the tasks of a Transition Team.
For an overview of Interim Ministry as it is practised in The United Church of Canada see
Introducing Interim Ministry: A Process of Change for Congregations (2010), available from UCRD or
www.united-church.ca/handbooks.
Guidelines for Transition Teams 3