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Name of Site	Follen Church Lexington, MA
Address	755 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA 02420
Phone	781-862-3805
Fax
Website	http://www.follen.org
Site E-mail Address	info@follen.org
Size of Congregation	450
Supervisor Name	Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn
Supervisor Phone	781-862-3805
Supervisor E-mail	claire.feingoldthoryn@follen.org
Informational Contact Name	Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn
Informational Contact Phone	781-862-3805
Informational Contact E-mail	claire.feingoldthoryn@follen.org
Focus	General ministry
Fulltime/Parttime	Part Time
Compensation	$1,360
Other Benefits	Above compensation totals $13,600 for September to mid-June. Additional $2,000 annually for professional expenses. Possible negotiation of additional summer hours.
Number of Months	10
Start Date/End Date	9/1/2024	6/14/2026
Site Description	Founded by abolitionist Charles Follen in the 1800s, our congregation is healthy, vibrant, and engaged. Follen has a long tradition of being a teaching congregation. Our most recent internship offerings were in 2014-2016 and 2022-2024. Previous ministers Rev. Polly Guild and Rev. Lucinda Duncan also mentored interns. We are proud to have launched many UU ministers! After a capital campaign, an extensive building project, and the global pandemic, we are in a strong and creative place, and excited for the new ideas and skills an intern brings. We have a great deal to offer prospective interns. The congregation has about 450 adult members and Friends, and a sizable program for children and youth. Our music program has long been historically strong, and our Music Director, Chris Eastburn, has brought incredible new energy to it. We are proud of our ongoing commitment to justice work, one aspect of which can be seen in hosting a family of Afghan refugees in the former parsonage, the Marshman Center, next door to our main building. Our Director of Religious Education oversees well-developed religious education and youth programs. In addition we have active small group ministry, lay ministry and pastoral care outreach, and a strong commitment to spiritual development, as seen by many Follen members taking the UUA offering “Claiming our Spiritual Leadership.” More than half the congregation is involved in a covenant group or other spiritual support/affinity group. Given our roots in the abolitionist movement Follen continues to hold social justice work as a priority.
Job Description	What are you excited to learn? What are you good at? What do you want to try, experience, get better at? These are all conversations we will have to shape your Learning Agreement. Both the congregation and minister are excited to help the intern learn based on their needs, talents, and skills. There is plenty of ministry to do at Follen. We will be most interested in hearing what the intern feels passionate about, and what skills they wish to develop as they go through the ministerial credentialing process. We expect that any intern will desire a well-rounded experience as well as having a chance to delve deeply into certain tasks. We hope you will bring your fresh eyes and new ideas to us, so that we all can learn and change over the course of our relationship. The intern will practice all the arts of ministry, including (but not limited to): preaching and worship, social justice organizing and visioning, lifespan religious education, pastoral care and counseling, and administration and management. We expect this work will be both in person (Sundays as well as additional hours during the week, to be arranged with the supervisor) as well as offering some opportunities to work from home.
Site Accessibility	Follen Church is fully accessible.
Application Procedure	Please send Rev. Feingold Thoryn at claire.feingoldthoryn@follen.org the following items to apply for this position: A cover letter describing why you are interested in Follen, specifically, and your current learning goals; a resume; some worship elements you have created, including a homily or sermon; and contact information for two or three references. We will process these applications through rolling submission until February 28, 2024 with the goal of hiring an intern to begin September 2024. Applications will be reviewed by Rev. Feingold Thoryn, who will choose finalists to interview. The finalists’ names and materials will be shared with a selection team including the chair of the Worship and Music Action Team and a representative from our Human Resources committee. We will hold interviews in person.
Additional Notes	Supervisor: Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn was called as the parish minister of Follen Church in 2013. Claire is a lifelong UU who graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 2006. Her ministerial internship was at Beacon Church in Summit, NJ and her Clinical Pastoral Education was served at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She served as the Associate Minister at First Parish in Lincoln, MA (UU/UCC) for seven years from 2006 through 2013. She was granted Final Fellowship in 2009. She has served in many denominational and collegial capacities including as a UU Ministers’ Association Good Officer and as a substitute panelist for the Ministerial Fellowship Committee seminarians. Rev. Claire is the Lecturer in UU Preaching at Boston University School of Theology and Harvard Divinity School.
Application Deadline	March 1, 2024
Selection Date	Rolling admissions

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