Ministry of Pastor
Who is a Pastor?
The specified ministry of Pastor provides opportunities for lay people to serve the Uniting Church in a variety of roles. Pastor is an umbrella term that covers people working in areas such as youth ministry, children and families ministry, pastoral ministry, as lay pastors, community development workers or outreach workers. Specifically, a Pastor role will include one or more of the following tasks done in the name of the Uniting Church:
a) Teaching the beliefs and practices of the Church
b) Pastoral oversight of members and/or groups operating under the auspices of the Church
c) Leadership of worship within the Church
d) Evangelism or service auspiced by the Church [Regulation 2.14.2]
[Please note that the new Uniting Church Constitution and Regulations come into effect on 1 June 2012. These were released in March 2012, and any references to particular Regulations have yet to be updated on this page]
Who oversees the role?
The Presbytery decides whether a particular role is suitable for a Pastor appointment (although the Synod or Assembly may also recognise certain roles as Pastor appointments within their structures). The appointing body (usually a congregation or Uniting Church agency) will write the job description, set the level of remuneration and make the actual appointment in consultation with the Presbytery. Ongoing oversight will be shared by the appointing body and the Presbytery.
Recognition of existing skills & experience
One thing that sets the ministry of Pastor apart from other appointments in the Church is that it is based on demonstrating on-the-job skills and experience. At the time of appointment, the Pastor will need to demonstrate ability in two core areas (knowledge and understanding of the Basis of Union, and the Code of Ethics and Ministry Practice). These are called Core Competencies.
In addition, the Pastor will need to demonstrate skills and experience relevant to their particular role (e.g. ability to preach, lead worship, provide effective pastoral care, etc). These are called General Competencies and will be assessed by the Presbytery during the selection and appointment process. In cases where these General Competencies are not yet developed, the Presbytery shall agree a course of study with the Pastor and a timeframe during which these competencies can be developed and demonstrated.
Why the change?
The ministry of Pastor replaces previous lay specified ministries in the Uniting Church. The reason for the change is so that the Church can better equip and support lay people in their ministry (e.g. to provide appropriate training, to offer appropriate levels of pay and conditions) as well as to provide oversight in matters of faith and discipline. All these elements are important to help ensure that high quality ministry is offered in the name of the Uniting Church.
Resources online
A list of Assembly guidelines & procedures, regulations, checklists, rules and competency information are available on the page http://ctm.uca.edu.au/PastorResources.
The Assembly's Worship Working Group has an order of service for the Commissioning of a Pastor on the page http://assembly.uca.org.au/worship/resources/order-service-in-church.html.
The ELM website also has LOTS of pastor resources on the pages http://www.elm.org.au/pastor-downloads/ and http://www.elm.org.au/pastor/.
More information
If you would like more information about any aspect of the ministry of Pastor please contact Rohan Pryor at the CTM on (03) 9340 8816 or email Rohan [dot] Pryor [at] ctm [dot] uca [dot] edu [dot] au.
