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Updated: December 19th, 2025
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Ministerial Search Webinar for 2026

Please note: this video is unedited as are the captions. We wanted to get it posted as quickly as possible. An edited version will be added at a later date.

Melissa Carvill Ziemer hosted Congregational Transitions Director Christine Purcell, Transformational Interim Ministries Director PK Curtis and Interim Settled Ministries Director Eric Kaminetzky.

Questions below were submitted during the webinar but we did not have time to answer them live.

  •  Can you kindly confirm the deadline for folx looking for Contract ministry? Here is the search calendar
  • I have a question about Hybrid/Virtual.  Have Transition folks found that congregations would like to have minister travel live from time to time or are they open to fully virtual.  Thx. Most congregations are not open to fully virtual ministry partnership. If you are hoping for this and would like to find out if a congregation is open to this, please be in touch with Christine Purcell, who can find out for you before you apply.
  • Re: the icons Christine described: are those icons/designations something the search committee has really decided?  like the contract to call or the open to hybrid or virtual ministry.  I have had mixed experiences and have even found myself informing search committees what those designations they picked meant. UUA staff have not encountered this confusion yet in search teams. Search teams which indicate an openness to creative partnership are not looking for virtual ministry.
  • Is the “Transitional Ministry” signifier just another name for interim, or does it include anything else? Transitional ministry can indicate interim, contract, or developmental ministry, but in the contract ministry search context, it means ministry which is term-limited or not call eligible.
  • I’m only seeing two positions in Canada. Are there others listed elsewhere, or is that pretty much it? So far, we have two open congregations in Canada. There may be more as the season unfolds.
  • For those of us currently serving a settled ministry but going into search, what is the latest best practice thinking around when and how to inform your current congregation that you are leaving? Please attend the Ending Well webinar. Generally, you want to abide by the terms of your contract and give the congregation 3-6 months of notice.
  • I’m wondering how the shift to a 2-day weekend is landing with congregations. Most search teams and boards are acknowledging that this makes sense.
  • Thank you, I’d also love to know what the numbers were last year, how many ministers searched? In the 2025 search cycle, there were 13 congregations in settled search, 29 applicants, and 19 pre-candidates. The search season began with an average ratio of searching ministers to congregations, and ended, after the inauguration, with a record number of ministers dropping out of consideration. Seven of the congregations in the settled search found matches in the search process. About 70% of interim searches and 25% of developmental searches ended with a hire. These are stunningly low numbers. Statistics on contract searches are complex to present, since until this year, the contract search was always open since 2018, and because contract searches can be part-time, which affects search outcomes.

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Updated: December 19th, 2025
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