Ketcham, So You’re On the Search Committee

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Bunty Ketcham and Celia Allison Hahn, So You’re On the Search Committee. Alban Institute, 2005.

Referenced in: Ministry Transitions and Interim Ministry

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

This is a unique contribution to literature on the pastoral search process, addressed specifically to the challenges and opportunities faced by search committee members.

From the Publisher

So You’re on the Search Committee focuses on the experience of pastoral search committees and the unique role that laity in most denominations play in this crucial process. Because a change of pastors is, as Alban Institute founder Loren Mead puts it, a “critical moment of ministry,” participation as a member of a search committee is a big investment with tremendous rewards, both for the congregation as well as for the individual.

Authors Bunty Ketcham Celia Allison Hahn find that the pastoral search process presents both search committee members and the congregation as a whole with limitless opportunities for growth and faith development. They offer insightful reflections on the deeper issues of congregational identity and transformation that search committees will find themselves wrestling with, as well as raise warnings about some of the obstacles committee members can expect to encounter in the search process.

So You’re on the Search Committee began as a conversation between Hahn, former editor-in-chief at the Alban Institute, and Ketcham, a consultant with considerable experience serving on search committees. First published in 1985, this new edition retains the original book’s interview format and includes significant updates and revisions based on new learnings and experiences with congregations going through pastoral transition.

About the Author

As an independent consultant and trainer in Organization Development, Bunty Ketcham serves organizations and individuals who are considering or are in the midst of major transitions. Formerly a member of the trainer network of the Mid-Atlantic Association for Training and Consulting (MATC) and of the Consultant Services Corps of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, she presently serves in the Consultant Services Network of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

Celia Allison Hahn is former editor-in-chief at the Alban Institute and is the author of Understanding Your Church’s Hidden Spirit (Alban, 2001), among other publications.

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