Assist Pastor and Lay Leadership with Worship/Sermons/Christian Education/Youth/Planning

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:

We are a small congregation in the United Church of Christ. Our Mission and Values document is attached. We are located in the northwest suburb of Arlington Heights. We have approximately 240 members with half active. We were a new start in 1959 and have been at our present site since 1963. The community economic base is primarily white collar but has seen a growing services work base the past twenty years. We live in an emerging ethnic region as well with Hispanic, Indian and Asian populations increasing in the same time frame. We are one of the few ONA congregations in the area.

STUDENT PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:

We have a very unique form of Stewardship that we would be able to share with a seminarian. As a Congregation, we pledge once a year and that is it, no other bake sales, car washes, or any other type of fund raising goes on that would go back to the Operating Budget of the Church. And we are close to giving twenty percent of our budget to numerous mission efforts in the suburbs/city, nation and the world.

STUDENT PLACEMENT EXPECTATIONS:

Nothing specific. We would hope the seminarian would be willing to assist our Pastor and Lay Leadership with the traditional functions of a congregation (Worship / Sermons / Christian Education / Youth / Planning) as well as some of our other projects mentioned above as they would fit into the student’s schedule / interests.

PHILOSOPHY OF STUDENT SUPERVISION:

We have learned the key to remaining an active and growing congregation is the ability to look outside our four walls. We realize we have to take the message out to those who would not typically hear it. Part of our focus, is to train ourselves to be able to do that work “in the field”. What better place for a seminarian than a congregation willing to train themselves to go out with the “word”. The prospective student would be involved with multiple efforts over the course of the year working to accomplish that goal. It could be assisting with faith study of some kind. They may be working with those organizing mission activities locally / nationally / globally. Or the student may simply be joining us for some sort of fellowship to discuss issues that are relevant to our lives today in and outside the church. And of course, eat really good food!

Supervision primarily implies creating space for a seminarian to exercise ministry possibilities within the context of a local church setting. Some of those possibilities will arise from the student’s natural interests, talents, etc. and some will be stretching exercises in areas where they may have little or no prior experience. The biggest component of supervision is in the dialogue and conversation about those experiences so that the student may learn from, grow in and appropriate the experience.

STIPEND AVAILABILITY:

Possible – amount TBD

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS:

We are located approximately 1.5 miles from the Arlington Heights commuter train station on the Northwestern Metra Line. We would make arrangements to shuttle someone to and from the station if needed.  We are also close (within three miles) to Interstate 90 and (one mile) to Route 53 if driving is an option.