Ministerial Credentialing Office
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Name of Site | West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church Rocky River, Ohio | |
Address |
20401 Hilliard Blvd Rocky River, Ohio 44116 |
|
Phone | (440) 333-2255 | |
Fax | ||
Website | https://wsuuc.org/ | |
Site E-mail Address | ||
Size of Congregation | 502 | |
Supervisor Name | Rev. Anthony Makar | |
Supervisor Phone | (440) 333-2255 | |
Supervisor E-mail | amakar@wsuuc.org | |
Informational Contact Name | Grant Wanner | |
Informational Contact Phone | ||
Informational Contact E-mail | gwanner@sehs.net | |
Focus | ||
Fulltime/Parttime | Full Time | |
Compensation | $2,180 | |
Other Benefits | $1,667.70 7.65% FICA $1,000 Moving expenses $1,500 Professional expenses We pay 80% of your health insurance premium | |
Number of Months | 10 | |
Start Date/End Date | mid-August 2023 | mid-June 2024 |
Site Description | West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, established in 1946, is a vibrant, large-church community of 502 members located in Rocky River, OH, a western suburb of Cleveland, serving the greater metropolitan area. Cleveland “rocks,” enjoys world-class cultural institutions, Lake Erie, and the Emerald Necklace of the Metroparks, but, as might be expected, has its share of neighborhoods suffering from poverty and its attendant problems. West Shore’s mission, “To inspire more people to lead lives of meaning and purpose,” is encouraged within the framework of “Connect, Grow, Serve.” We are currently led by Senior Minister Anthony Makar, who became WSUUC’s 7th settled senior minister in May of 2019. In addition to Rev. Makar, WS employs a full-time director of religious education and engagement and a full-time business administrator, a ¾ time director of music, and five part-time employees. As with many congregations, when the pandemic began, West Shore’s team pivoted to live stream services as well as various other meetings and social opportunities. Now we find ourselves pivoting again and recentering ourselves in the physical space we call our home and sanctuary. Our Global Initiatives for 2022-2023 are: • Continue COVID-19 recovery & rebuild membership. • Have more fun as a congregation. • Be more out there in the neighborhood. • Continue developing an “8th Principle” culture of greater diversity and inclusion. WSUUC voted to affirm the 8th Principle on June 19, 2022. • Enter the Green Sanctuary 2030 Initiative; discover how individuals, families, and the congregation can do their part in responding to climate change and the call to becoming more responsible ecological citizens. WSUUC became a Green Sanctuary in 2010. And last, but not least: • Find an intern for 2023-2024. [That’s YOU!] Worship reawakens with a new year-long series on Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, three new Worship Associates, and Rev. Makar’s Mandala Meditation class. Our Music Department reawakens with SIX new choir members and the reemergence of our Junior Choir. Religious Education is reawakening with a new slate of adult RE classes for fall/winter 2022-2023 and a complete offering of religious education for children from kindergarten through Sunday night youth group. Justice efforts reawaken with a new Reproductive Justice Task Force and the Braver Angels Program. Stewardship reawakens with a relaunch of the Planned Giving Team, an energized Service Auction Team, and the Next Steps for Us program in February. We were sustained during the pandemic by our strong ties to each other and our history as a congregation. 2021-2022 was West Shore’s 75th Jubilee and Historian Gaile Schafer wrote “Who We Are: Our History Celebrating 75 Years.” It touches upon the many things that make West Shore, West Shore. We are committed to diversity of all types. We became a Welcoming Congregation in 1993, wrote our intention to be an anti-oppressive, anti-racist community into our bylaws, and have had several workshops on class. We participated in the White Supremacy Teach-In and work with the local Muslim community to present Teatime for Peace, an interfaith effort. We are partners with Denison United Church of Christ, the Renee Jones Empowerment Center, Urban Hope, and have a partner church in Romania to reach outside our walls. We care about each other and the planet with opportunities to grow in spiritual connection, education, and wisdom, including Connection Circles, a movie series put on by the Social Action team, and a Humanists, Free Thinkers, and Atheists group. Finally, we have a serious commitment to our responsibility as a teaching church, employing a dozen interns in our history, beginning in 1985. We’d love to welcome you—each intern that walks alongside West Shore for a season changes and influences our journey as we hope we change and influence yours as well. | |
Job Description | We offer you engagement in the extensive aspects of parish ministry available in a large church setting and invite you to experience the office of ministry as an integration of worship, pastoral care, prophetic witness, denominational and regional involvement, local community involvement, religious education, finances, governance, and church management. We look forward to helping you hone your weaknesses into strengths. You will construct your own learning service agreement in cooperation with our minister and our internship committee, incorporating your resources, skills, special interests, and needs, as well as those of West Shore, in the hope that these learning goals will allow you not only to gain experience in full- time parish ministry, but also to develop an identity as a professional minister. | |
Site Accessibility | ||
Application Procedure | Please include 1) letter of interest, 2) full resume, 3) contact information for 3 references, including academic and ministerial, 4) copies of 2 sermons, and 5) an essay that describes your learning goals and how they might be supported by West Shore. Information should be emailed to Grant Wanner, Internship Committee member, gwanner@sehs.net, Subject Line: “Intern Application,” no later than December 31, 2022. We plan to conduct interviews in mid-January and reach a decision by January 31, 2023. | |
Additional Notes | YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjwSxK8LLlIKw6LeMviMK7g 75th anniversary booklet: https://wsuuc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Jubilee-History-2022-Gaile-Schafer-DKE.pdf Urban Hope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyiRGb96YPA https://braverangels.org https://stewardshipforus.com/next-steps-weekend http://rjecempower.org https://www.denisonucc.org | |
Application Deadline | February 14, 2023 | |
Selection Date | March 14, 2023 |