Current Conferences
This year’s seminar runs four concurrent sessions (Week I, Week II, Spouse Track, and Beyond Basic)
As of Friday, August 19, 2011:
- Week I – Past registration deadline – No exceptions to the registration deadline can be made. Please consider another site, or plan to be with us next year, August 26–31, 2012.
- Week II – Past registration deadline – No exceptions to the registration deadline can be made. Please consider another site, or plan to be with us next year, August 26–31, 2012.
- Beyond Basic – Cancelled due to low enrollment.
The interim pastor is recognized as a specialized position in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Some interim pastors enter this field straight out of seminary, others enter at mid-career and find a new enthusiasm in this more specialized kind of ministry. Still others are retired ministers who wish to continue in service for a few more years. Presbyteries increasingly encourage sessions to call an interim while the congregation is in transition between installed pastors. Interim assignments vary in length from three months to a year or more.
This specialized ministry often requires skills which include reorganizing a session or congregation, problem-solving, program maintenance and conflict management, as well as providing trained leadership through a transitional period.
The interim is one who understands and helps the congregation address the five developmental tasks: coming to terms with history; shifts of leadership; thinking denominational linkages; discovering a new identity; and commitment to new pastoral leadership and to a new future.
The curriculum for these events has been standardized at regional sites across the country. Weeks are not repeatable. However, if it has been more than six years since you attended week I training, you should take it again.
Seminar Descriptions
Week I is designed to
- introduce interim ministry to ministers contemplating this form of service as a valid ministry for them.
- provide the basic skills for ministers who have just begun their interim ministry and who have not completed a Week I event (or equivalent).
Week II* is designed to
- broaden the skills of ministers who have completed week I at any one of the approved regional sites (a list of those sites and scheduled events is available upon request).
- provide a group process of reflection and learning grounded in the participant’s practice of interim ministry.
*Requirements for enrollment in Week II: completion of Week I and current service as an interim or service as an interim within the last two years (since Jan. 1, 2008). At least six months must elapse between training for Week I and Week II.
Spouse Track is designed for spouses of pastors either considering or already in interim positions. Spouses are encouraged to participate in the interim ministry spouse track. Regardless of the level of involvement in interim ministry, it is good to understand the unique characteristics of this specialized ministry. Together, through a variety of activities, spouses will develop a basic understanding of interim ministry, explore their fit within its rewards and challenges, and learn ways to strengthen their support system for ministry. Spouses are encouraged to attend some sessions with Week I participants, but will not be able to attend the integrative learning exercise with Week II participants.
Beyond Basic* is designed for interim ministers who would like to continue their training within a specialized topic. This year’s topic will focus on “First Response Ministry.”
Presbytery Staff and Committees on Ministry have known since the beginning — tragedy and trauma can afflict a congregation at any time . . . e.g., a pastor is removed for cause, a pastor dies suddenly and unexpectedly or is incapacitated by illness or personal / family crisis, an automobile accident takes the lives of youth-group teens and their leader, a hurricane or wildfire or earthquake destroys a church building.
Ideally, in situations such as these, short-term replacement or supplement of pastoral services must be obtained, and the sooner the better. Otherwise the spiritual, psychological, and emotional effects of the tragedy are likely to become deeply ingrained in the injured congregation. But how can competent, focused, temporary pastoral leadership be found and acquired immediately? Until recently, the answer has usually been, “Only with luck, if at all.”
But that dilemma is being solved . . . with First Response Ministry (FRM), a recent development within Interim / Transitional Ministry Education. This August, Montreat will host the 4th national FRM seminar — the first such event on the East coast — for clergy committed to providing immediate, short-term, competent pastoral services to situations of congregational tragedy.
Two types of persons are invited to attend. For the prospective First Response Minister, the training requires completion of Weeks I and II of Interim Education and strong recommendation by his/her Executive/General Presbyter. Because First Response Ministry, ideally, assumes a close team relationship among FRM pastor, session, and Presbytery personnel, the latter (e.g., EP / GP, COM members) also are invited to the training.
The seminar content will include: the nature of shared trauma in a congregational setting; working with the spiritual, psychological, and emotional lives of a traumatized group; the use of Scripture and liturgy with a traumatized (e.g., grieving) congregation, especially from the lament psalms; building effective teams of presbytery, FRM pastor, and session; the impact of abrupt onset, intense pastoral work on the FRM pastor and his / her family; the concepts of compassion fatigue and resiliency as developed by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance; and the process of preparing for the next phase of pastoral leadership following the FRM response.
Need more information about program content, or help discerning whether this program is right for you? Contact the Rev. Dr. Edie Gause at 970-677-1777 or firstresponseministry@gmail.com.
*Requirements for enrollment in Beyond Basic: completion of both Week I and Week II, current service as an interim or service as an interim within the last two years (since Jan. 1, 2008) or Presbytery work with congregations in transition, and letter of recommendation from executive or general presbyter.
Governing Body Representatives and Committee on Ministry members are urged to attend any of these offerings. It is an opportunity to become familiar with the concerns of interim ministers and learn how to develop and support a network of trained pastors to work as interims in their own area. The requirement for interim experience is waived for persons in this group who have completed Week I and wish to take Week II or the Beyond Basic program.
Sponsored by Montreat Conference Center, in cooperation with the Interim Ministry Consortium.
Key Leaders
Week I and Week II Seminar Staff
- Tim Jones, Delaware, OH; Tim is a former interim executive presbyter in two presbyteries; an associate in one presbytery; and an interim pastor in one conflicted congregation; He teaches Weeks I & II at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Executive Track at the Synod of Mid America/Lincoln Trails and Montreat. He is presently serving as a transition consultant with the Synod of Lincoln Trails and the Presbytery of Scioto Valley.
- Libby Rollins, Virginia Beach, VA; Libby lives in Virginia Beach, VA and has been involved in interim ministry for ten years. She recently moved to Virginia and began serving a church in Norfolk as Interim, following the sudden death of their Pastor. Before the move, she served four churches throughout North Alabama Presbytery during their times of pastoral transition as Interim Head of Staff, Interim Solo, and Interim Associate Pastor. She joined the teaching team in 2008. She is one half of a clergy couple with her husband serving as an installed Pastor, and they have one son. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and going to the spa.
- Harris Schultz, Nashville, TN; Harris retired at the end of 2006 after serving small, mid-size, and larger congregations, the last five as interim pastor of program or corporate congregations. He has been a leader in interim ministry education for over 10 years, having taught in several sites related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He is editor of The Bridge, the quarterly newsletter for the Association of Presbyterian Interim Ministry Specialists. He received the D.Min degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in 1996, where he focused on pastoral care with attention to transitional ministries.
- Jan Schultz, Nashville, TN; Jan served five congregations as an interim Christian Educator/Youth Director prior to her retirement as Interim Christian Educator at First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. She has been the coordinator for the Association of Presbyterian Interim Ministry Specialists (APIMS) for the last 10 years, and the coordinator for the Interim Ministry Education Consortium. For the past 5 years, she has team taught the Interim Ministry Spouse Track with her spouse Harris at Montreat Conference Center and Zephyr Point Conference Center.
- Carol Shellenberger, Bozeman, MT; Carol has been involved with interim ministry since 1996. She has served congregations from under 50 members to over 400 members in northern California. She joined the interim ministry education team in 2002 and has taught at several sites. In 2008 she moved with spouse, John, to Montana and enjoys the outdoor activities it offers for hiking, cross country skiing and romping with her two Labradors.
- Gavin Meek, Charlottesville, VA; Gavin currently serves as Interim Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, VA. He has also served as interim pastor in Louisville, KY; Bloomington, IN; Morgantown, WV; and Greensboro, NC. All were exciting and challenging in their own way! In the midst of them, Gavin acquired the second and advanced levels of interim training as well as training in the areas of personnel management, strategic planning and systems theory.
- James E. Roghair, Santa Fe, NM; Jim’s parish experience includes churches from 30 to 800 members; 5 settled and 6 transitional; in inner city, Arctic Alaska and suburbs. He is a Ministry Mentor leader, on Ghost Ranch’s transitional ministry faculty and leads family systems, mediation, and misconduct training.
Spouse Track Leaders
- Dick and Sue Neelly, Dalton, GA; Dick served as an interim minister in 6 churches after having been an installed pastor for nearly 30 years. In the past, he and Sue have served on the faculty of interim training at Montreat. Sue, in addition, has participated in the spouse track and was active in each of the churches that Dick served. Throughout their professional lives she has worked as a registered nurse. They have been married 40 years.
Beyond Basic Leaders
- Edie Gause and Andrew Short Loveland, CO; Edie and Andrew, retired Presbyterian transitional pastors, have initiated First Response Ministry(FRM) for congregations experiencing a sudden, traumatic loss of pastor or other disaster situation. Edie focuses on response teams from the governing body, the nature of the traumatized congregation, and the development of FRM ministry. Andrew’s specialty is the use of lament scripture in liturgy and group work. At home in Loveland, CO they enjoy hiking and snowshoeing in the Rocky Mountains, aspiring to topping as least one 14er (a mountain at least 14,000 feet high), and C&W dancing. Two Lhaso Apso dogs and a Bengal cat share their town home with Edie and Andrew, even welcoming the eight grandkids of their blended family.
Registration Information
Each seminar has limited enrollment. Please register early. Registrations for Week I must be postmarked by July 29 in order to be accepted. Registrations for Week II must be postmarked on or before July 15 in order to be accepted. The above dates are required because of advance reading and papers which must be prepared before your attendance at the event. If you feel you can accomplish the work after the dates listed and before the event, please call for an exception at 800.572.2257, ext. 331.
Rates below include conference fee plus a $5 community services fee per person. Housing & meals are not included in this rate.
- On or before July 15: $424 – clergy only; $469 – clergy and non-clergy spouse
- After July 15: $449 – clergy only; $494 – clergy and non-clergy spouse
Accommodations
Rates for Assembly Inn and Reynolds Lodge are per person and include all charges for room and meals for the entire conference (Sunday supper-Friday lunch. NO WEDNESDAY SUPPER). Additional charges will apply for any extended stay.
Assembly Inn
- Double, Private Bath: $380.75 per person
- Single, Private Bath: $575.75
- Double, Connecting Bath: $355.75 per person
- Single, Connecting Bath: $480.75
- Children 12 and older: $130.75
- Children ages 5-11: $66.50
- Children under 5: no charge
Reynolds Lodge
- Double, Hall Bath $305.75 per person
- Single, Hall Bath $330.75
- Children 12 and older: $130.75
- Children ages 5-11: $66.50
- Children under 5: no charge
Refund Policy
Registrations and housing cancellations for the Assembly Inn must be received by July 15 in order to receive a refund. The $100 deposit is completely non-refundable. All requests must be in writing and received via email, fax or US mail. Cancellations received by July 15 will receive a refund of all funds paid, minus the $100 deposit. Cancellations received between July 15 and August 15 will receive a 50% refund of conference fees and all payments made toward room and meals, minus a $40 service charge. No refunds will be issued after August 15.
More Information…
- Seminars begin Sunday, August 28, with check in, 3:30-5:30 PM, Assembly Inn Lobby.
- Seminars end Friday, September 2, with closing worship that begins at 11 a.m.
- Scholarships are available for this conference.
- If you would like registration information mailed to you via U.S. mail, please email carolo[at]montreat.org.
- Questions about the conference? Email Tracy Taylor Bailey at tracyt[at]montreat.org.
- Child care is not provided during this seminar.
- Find out more about housing options available in Montreat.
Sponsored by Montreat Conference Center, in cooperation with the Interim Ministry Consortium.
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