Mentoring
The Flourishing in Ministry project identifies supportive relationships with significant others, similar others and supportive and resourcing others as essential to health and wellness throughout a life in ministry. Mentoring is one of the most important and enduring ways we can support one another throughout the lifespan of our ministries. Mentoring can be vital throughout the lifespan of a ministry. We might need mentoring when:
- We are first discerning our calls and engaging in the ministerial formation process.
- We complete our preparation and take up our first ministries.
- We change ministry contexts throughout our careers and find ourselves beginning again.
- We change in significant ways or when we encounter new challenges and need help imagining and practicing new ways of approaching ministry.
- We are preparing to move into elderhood.
To create and sustain a culture of mentoring in the UUMA, we need people willing to volunteer to be available as mentors. One common way of understanding mentoring imagines senior colleagues giving advice and opening doors for junior colleagues. While advice and networking can be helpful, at times, our imagination of mentoring is more about developing a trusting, accountable relationship of support and accompaniment. Mentoring in the UUMA is about asking good questions, listening well, and encouraging and supporting people in their practice of ministry. When mentoring works well, the mentor gains as much from the relationship as the mentee. If you are in fellowship and have time and energy, please consider making yourself available as a potential mentor.
We are currently considering how we might go about revising/updating our mentor training and will alert all mentors when that training becomes available. Between now and then, we encourage mentors to establish a covenant with mentees and to be explicit with each other about the duration of the relationship, frequency and location of meetings, etc.
Unitarian Universalism formally offers mentorship for participants in the Ministerial Formation Network (those mentors are called Vocational Advisors) and requires mentorship for those in Preliminary Fellowship. By encouraging people to seek out mentoring whenever they feel they might benefit from that structured support, we hope to expand and enrich our culture of mentoring.
Only UUMA members can access the links to “Find a Mentor” and “Volunteer to be a Mentor.” If you do not see those links below, sign into the UUMA website using the “Sign In” button at the top of this page.
Contact the UUMA Program Administrator if you need to update your information in the Mentor Database.
Note: the UUMA also has a peer clergy coaching program for people who want to learn new skills and/or focused support in their efforts to work toward particular goals.