The Yoked Ministry Proposal was passed by a congregational vote on September 6th, by a majority of the voters at our second congregational meeting on the topic. Rev. Ken and Rev. Megan guided the meeting.

The forty-plus queries submitted by members were read and those to which answers are known were responded to. This vote means we will continue collaborating with UU Fellowship of Kern County (UUFKC). Next, we will prepare for a ministerial search for one full-time minister under contract for three years to be shared between both congregations beginning 2023/24.

The UUSCV Visioning Task Force included Rev. Megan and Rev. Ken, Eric and Louise Klatt, and Beth Jenkins. Their job was to represent UUSCV at three introductory meetings with UU Fellowship of Kern County Task Force representatives. The initial in-person meeting on July 30th included Melissa James, Congregational Life Representative from UUA Pacific Western Region and Rev. Rick Hoyt-McDaniels who was Kern County’s minister at the time. Now, since the UUFKC passed the proposal as well (at their September 11 general meeting), the Task Force’s job is over.

Establishing a Search committee of three UUSCV members is the next step in this process. The committee will offer input in creating a job offer package. It will describe our congregation and what we are looking for in a minister. That information and that of UUFKC will be submitted to the UUA matching system by November 30th. It will be made available to UU ministers looking for a full-time ministry. Interested applicants also prepare and submit an informational packet.

There are many questions still, as well as matters to be worked out. It can, admittedly, be unsettling to not have full visibility of all the details regarding how it’s going to get implemented, but it will be exciting to continue exploring the interesting synergies that we hope this new partnership will present. Rev. Ken Brown, our Board of Directors Vice President, will continue to guide us through the steps towards a “yoked” (shared) ministry. He has overseen some similar arrangements in his 17 years as UUA District Executive at PSWD (now UUA Pacific Western Region). He believes the opportunity to have a full-time minister, even a shared one, could be a great benefit for our congregation. He sees the plan as a good option for maintaining a committed professional ministry for both our congregations.

Both Eric and Beth from the Task Force commented that they see this new approach to ministry as potentially offering opportunities that a one-year-contract part-time minister might not. The shared minister would be dedicated to a longer-term relationship with us, and we hope to be able to identify additional synergies for collaboration between our two congregations.