Church Staff

We have filled our Lilly Residency position, and are thus no longer accepting applications. Please check back at the end of 2012!

Lilly Residency in Pastoral Ministry

The Lilly Residency in Pastoral Ministry provides residents with a model of collegial relationship and theological reflection on issues which are otherwise managed through superficial problem-solving and which eventually wear on the pastor's sense of vocation and spiritual health. Residents receive broad training and experience in all aspects of ministry, work closely with the pastoral staff on specific project emphases, and have on-going exposure to one another's work.

Residency Goals
Lilly Residency in Pastoral Ministry
Hyde Park Union Church

GOALS OF THE RESIDENCY IN PASTORAL MINISTRY

Through a partnership with the Lilly Endowment, Hyde Park Union Church offers a two-year, full-time, paid Residency in Pastoral Ministry for recent seminary graduates as further intentional and practical preparation for ministry. Residents will receive broad training and experience in all aspects of professional ministry, will work closely with the pastoral staff , and will have on-going exposure to one another's work. The program provides residents with a model of collegial relationship and theological reflection on issues which might otherwise be managed through more superficial problem solving.

We share the concern articulated by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., that promising new pastors face multiple challenges after having had relatively few experiences through which to develop good habits, a secure sense of professional identity, or the strategies for creating a continuing network of resources and relationships. We are pleased to offer the kind of sanctuary and crucible in which such theological, social, and personal issues may be thoughtfully analyzed and tended.

As the result of their opportunities to do independent work in a congregational setting with planned congregational support and collegial supervision, we anticipate that residents will experience measurable growth in a number of areas of ministerial leadership, including pastoral and worship leadership, preaching, pastoral care, administration, mission and service, and Christian education.

In collaborative ministry the pastoral staff of our church will work closely with our residents on a wide variety of church programs and activities. The church identified three areas for development: Children and Families, Community Outreach and Mission, and Alternative Worship, creating a Sunday evening worship service. Residents will take strong leadership roles in these growth areas.

AREAS OF FOCUS FOR PASTORAL RESIDENTS

Lilly Residents in Pastoral Ministry work broadly at a number of church and ministerial tasks. However, there are three areas of intentional focus in working with pastoral staff:

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. This area involves the expansion of our children's programs, including work with youth, parents and families in the church—through Sunday School, children's sermons, children's church, youth activities (including community-wide interfaith youth activities), and family-oriented community service projects.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND MISSION. This area involves developing a part-time hospital chaplaincy in a small inner-city hospital, with emphasis on the creation of community service opportunities for church members, especially those related to the hospital. We have been searching for a new community service venue, particularly one that addresses the vast and unmet mental health needs of our city. The hospital in question presently has no pastoral staff and would benefit greatly from serious community interest in it and its related community mental health center and halfway house.

CREATION OF AN ALTERNATIVE WORSHIP SERVICE. Hyde Park Union Church has recently committed to create an alternative worship service for young adults and the university community. Attention will be given to alternative worship styles as well. Significant interest already exists for a jazz emphasis in the service music. The ministers and the residents will work together with a congregational task force in planning, research, outreach and publicity. Coordinated social events and community service or mission projects are also a part of the vision in order to build the fellowship of the new group. Worship leadership of a second service, including some preaching, will be provided by the residents.

Residents will have ongoing exposure to one another's work and the deliberations of the pastoral staff through regular weekly staff meetings. More importantly, regular continuing education seminars and retreats will provide residents with a model of healthy collegial relationship and theological reflection.

Weekly staff meetings include other non-pastoral staff and provide ample exposure to the integration of tasks and coordination of church life, as well as the development of whole-staff relationships. In addition to program-related staff meetings, the residency includes monthly gatherings of the pastoral staff for more extended discussion. These include theological and sociological reflection, and critique of our cultural and congregational context of ministry, book studies and occasional guest presenters from area seminaries and other outside resources. Residents also have the opportunity to attend an annual professional conference, denominational biennial, or other retreat.