Serving Congregations & Ministers

January 2026

In this issue we have news for...

• Tips and Reminders for Contract and Settled Ministry Search Teams
• Break Barriers, Build Beliefs
• Fellowship and Ordination
• Tips and Reminders for Ministers
• Some Early Search Statistics

• Supplementary documents: please remember to send a link (with viewing permissions set for anyone who has the link) to all applicants.
• Be as open-minded as you can to the possibilities for ministry partnership with your initial applicants. Snap decisions based on little information or even biased thinking can reduce your chances to find a wonderful match. At the same time, remember the qualities your congregation asked you to find in a minister. Some qualities are innate and others can be learned over time.
• When you know for certain that you will not move forward with an applicant, you may let them know in the search system by using the dismiss button. Using that button brings up a page where you can send them an email. A customized email, even if brief, is a nice touch.
• Remember that all congregations searching for ministers in the 2026 ministry search, including contract ministries, are part of a ranking and matching process which will play out 23-26 March. Search teams should not make offers or even hint at offers outside of that process.
• Search teams in the settled search process may continue to receive applicants until 16 January. They will invite their top applicants to be pre-candidates on 23 January.
• Search teams in the contract search may continue to receive applicants into March.
• Remember to contact only provided references on your applicants at this phase of the search process. As you narrow down your list of applicants (and in the settled search, identify pre-candidates), you may ask your top applicants who on UUA regional staff could share a perspective on their ministry and for additional references to fill in any gaps in your understanding. 
•  Remember that more information on important dates you can consult our Settled Search Calendar and Contract Search Calendar.

• Preliminary Fellowship: offered by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the UUA after someone completes an MDiv degree, a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (chaplaincy), a Ministerial Internship (usually with a congregation), and some rigorous testing/evaluation. Once a person receives Preliminary Fellowship they are cleared to search for ministry positions and are considered fully qualified ministers by the UUA.
• Ordination: Ordination is offered by congregations. It may be offered by the minister’s internship congregation or by the first ministry congregation the minister serves after their internship. Ordination allows a minister to use the title Reverend. Fellowshipping, the process of moving from Preliminary Fellowship to Full Fellowship is the credentialing path administered by the UUA. 
• Full Fellowship: offered by the UUA after three successful Preliminary Fellowship evaluations/renewals in a ministry setting. This can happen in as little as three years. Sometimes an extension is requested, and receiving Full Fellowship can take longer.
• A few ministers are cleared to search before receiving Preliminary Fellowship either as student ministers (for 1 year contract positions only) or on contingencies until they complete their internship or degree, at which point they will enter Preliminary Fellowship.
  

• If you notice that a fellowship date is missing from your profile, please reach out to Marion Bell, MBell@uua.org. If you notice an ordination date is missing from your profile, please reach out to Amy Szen, ASzen@uua.org. 
• When a search team contacts you, please provide them with your list of references and a link to a list of sermons or your website if you did not provide this information in your ministerial record.
• Developmental ministry search profiles will be published on 31 January. Applications are due by 02 March. These positions are open to experienced ministers. Check in with the regional staff person identified in each profile prior to applying to determine whether there is a potential match between your skills and interests and the cultural and structural change goals of the congregations in developmental ministry search.
• A search profile for the Bloomfield Hills, MI congregation was published since the UUA holiday break. We anticipate continuing to publish search profiles for contract ministry searches until early March.
• If you would like to know which congregations had few applicants and would welcome more, please get in touch with us: transitions@uua.org.
• Please apply no later than 11:59 PM Eastern time on 15 January to meet the 16 January deadline for settled ministry search applications. The earlier in January you apply, the better your chances of full and fair consideration.
• If you are invited to be a pre-candidate in the settled search, please wait until 24 January to accept the invitation. If you know you will decline an invitation, it’s fine to reply on the 23rd. You may accept up to three pre-candidate invitations. 

• So far, we have 55 ministers as applicants for 14 settled search positions. Search teams had a range of 3-19 applicants with 11 as the mean.
• So far, we have 42 ministers as applicants for the 29 contract ministry search positions which have been published for the 2026 cycle so far. The range of applicants per search for the search profiles which are published and have applicants is 1-13 with 4.5 as the mean. Much context is lost in a point in time comparison of the level of interest in positions which may be part-time or full-time, have different terms and benefits, and are for different size congregations, especially when some profiles have not yet been published. 
• We anticipate a shift in focus toward the contract ministry search once ministers accept/reject pre-candidate invitations in the settled ministry search toward the end of the month.
• There is significant overlap in the pools of applicants for settled and contract searches, as trends predicted.