Ministry Assistance

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:

Epiphany UCC is a member of the United Church of Christ and is located in the NorthCenter neighborhood of Chicago, on the northside of the city. Though it has a membership of 284, It averages around 90 people in weekly average Sunday worship.   53% of the congregation has some college or are college graduates, and another 37% have some graduate school. 40% of the congregation is between 0-18 years of age, and 46% are between 19-49 years of age. We are a young congregation for a mainline church, with a strong Sunday School and adult Christian Education program. Epiphany UCC and Ravenswood UCC are partners in a thriving 15-member youth group that began last year. The congregation is 98% white, though it seeks to be more racially diverse. We are also an Open and Affirming Congregation with a hot meals ministry that feeds 90 people every Wednesday evening.

STUDENT PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:

We offer a chance to serve a young, growing congregation in an urban setting. Epiphany experienced a rebirth in the early 2000’s, attracting a large group of young persons who are now in the midst of raising their families. Some have said that Epiphany is almost like a “new church start” since 90% of the congregation was likely not here some 10 years ago. Epiphany is family (of all types) oriented and deeply committed to the work of justice and welcome in Christ’s name.

STUDENT PLACEMENT EXPECTATIONS:

Worship leadership and participation on most Sundays, including at least 2 opportunities to preach at a Sunday morning service per semester; some participation at the weekly Welcome Meals on Wednesday evening;  small group leadership, perhaps leading a book study of some sort during the field placement experience; youth group or confirmation experiences might be possible as well.  All of these experiences can be negotiated to work with the student’s schedule.

PHILOSOPHY OF STUDENT SUPERVISION:

A congregation is tasked with being a positive placement for a seminarian who wishes to experience a range of ministry opportunities in an actual congregational setting. By providing different kinds of experiences for the future leadership of the church, we hope to strengthen the quality of the clergy, especially those just coming out of seminary. In addition, we hope to be strengthened by the seminarian’s own experience as a person of faith, and their current experience of matriculating through seminary.

STIPEND AVAILABILITY:

$500 per semester, $1000 for the two semester field placement experience.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS:

We are three quarters of a mile from the Brown Line (Addison station), and various bus stops are within 1-2 blocks.