Settled Pastor Search Committee

Some people have asked for more information on the Settled Pastor Search Committee, which is helping us find our permanent pastor. The search committee is a small team of people who represent the diverse ages, genders, life experiences, and perspectives present at FCC.

The executive team collected a list of candidates for the search committee; the people on this list were either nominated by the Council or self-nominated. The executive team recommended a slate of candidates drawn from these nominees to Council for a vote at its 5/16 meeting. See the “Who are the members of the search committee?” answer for more information.

The initial meeting of the committee happened on May 22nd well ahead of our June 1st deadline. The team has selected roles and begun work. First priority is our church profile, a comprehensive document that is meant to give potential candidates a full look at FCC Naperville. We anticipate that it will take 2-3 months to develop the church profile.

The completed profile will be sent to the IL Conference of the UCC, which will verify the information in our profile and post our job opening on the UCC website. The Illinois Conference will act as a conduit between interested candidates and our search team.

The search team will receive profiles from the conference and research candidates, read profiles, watch online sermons, and score candidates. They will interview identified candidates and recommend a final candidate to Council. (Once Council approves and a compensation package is worked out, a full congregational vote will be needed.) Much of the work can be done independently, but the search committee will meet regularly once they start receiving profiles to share their thoughts and feedback on the candidates.