Supervised Ministry
SITE COMMITTEE - Check List
Site Committee Commitment Form May 15
Create Covenant of Confidentiality September 15
Attend Orientation September
Site Committee Minutes
October February
November March
December April
End of each Semester
Site Committee Evaluation December 1 May 1
The Site Committee
Suggestions for Formation
1. The site committee should be formed through whatever process is normally employed in respect to the establishment of a committee in the teaching site. It is helpful for the site committee to be formed in the summer prior to placement.
2. The site committee in a teaching church should represent various elements of the congregation: male and female, young and old, liberal and conservative, etc. These persons should be committee members of the church who are involved in its life and worship and mission.
3. The site committee in a teaching agency could be established so that (a) the members represent the clientele of the agency, i.e., those who are the recipients of the student's ministry; or (b) the members represent other staff of the agency who are professionals in their own right, but lay persons in respect to professional ministry; or (c) a combination of (a) and (b).
4. The site committee shall not have current a CRCDS student as a member
5. The site committee shall be a new committee, rather than a standing committee of the site; that takes on the responsibility of working with a Supervised Ministry Student.
6. The site committee should be composed of 4-6 persons.
7. The supervisor names a convener. The convener's duties are:
· To notify members and student of meeting times and places;
· To plan each meeting agenda with the student;
· To assure that minutes are recorded at each meeting and that the student is provided with a copy of the minutes;
· To convene and end the meetings on time, and to see that leadership for each meeting is provided;
· To send the required written evaluations of the seminarian to the Supervised Ministry faculty by December 1 and May 1;
· To attend an Orientation meeting at CRCDS in the beginning of the Fall Term.
The Tasks of the Site Committee
The site committee shall meet monthly (September through April) for at least one hour with the student. The supervisor should not attend the site committee meetings as a regular practice. The supervisor and site committee convener shall be in close communication during the year and especially within the month prior to each required evaluation of the student’s performance.
1. The focus of reflection and discussion is the student’s performance of ministry in a given situation. The special feature of the site committee is to communicate their perspective on the student's activities, responsibilities, relationship to persons, etc.
2. The focused discussion and reflection have a mutual benefit: i.e., that the student does not “lose touch” with their perspective and grows in valuing and respecting the essential input which site members of the teaching site have to make; by the same token, if an important part of professional ministry is mutuality, the student can be helpful in shaping the committee member’s understanding of his/her own ministry.
Suggestions for Structuring the Site Committee/Student Meetings
Hopefully, each member will have opportunities to establish a relationship with the student beyond that of the meetings of the site committee and student.
1. The meeting itself may be informal, but it must have structure to it and a clear agenda. An outline of a meeting might include:
a. Set Agenda: Convener and student share their plans for the meeting. Other members of the committee are invited to share concerns to be addressed. The agenda is revised, if necessary.
The concerns of both the student and the site committee should be listed. These receive a priority for discussion.
b. Discuss each concern in turn. For each agenda item:
· Describe the concern, experience, or event clearly and briefly;
· Identify the issue as the student is experiencing it;
· Analyze the issue;
· Generalize from this analysis. What can be learned about ministry? What can the student learn about himself/herself as a minister? What is the theological grounding for this ministry?
c. Conclude: Each person is invited to share learnings from the meeting and give suggestions for next meeting's agenda.
2. Whether this precise format is followed is secondary. What is important is that some agenda be followed, minutes are recorded and that there be a movement into those issues that are on the minds of the student and of committee members at some level deep enough to be helpful to the student.
Other Functions of the Site Committee
1. Help interpret the student's role to the site.
2. Listen to the concerns of the student, including his/her achievements and frustrations, and then help him/her see these in a realistic perspective.
3. Serve as a channel of “feedback” for the student with respect to his/her work in the site agency. Feedback is a way of helping another person to consider changing his/her behavior. It is communication with another, which offers information about how one affects others. It aims to assist another in achieving his/her goals because it focuses on a style of acting and interacting that is appropriate to the goal.
· Some criteria for useful feedback:
a. It takes into consideration the needs of both the receiver and the giver of feedback.
b. It is directed toward behavior that the receiver can do something about.
c. It is well timed and is checked to insure clear communication.
d. When feedback is given in a group, both the receiver and giver have the opportunity to check with others the accuracy of the feedback. “Is this one impression or an impression shared by many?”
e. It is invited, rather than imposed. When the receiver can frame the question well, it opens up the possibility of giving him/her useful answers and observations that directly relate to the issue. Example: “Can you share with me your response to my sermon? Did I speak to your life experience? Relate Scripture clearly?”
Evaluation
Evaluation of ministry is an issue that many congregations avoid. Many congregations avoid evaluation of ministers and ministry because congregants are afraid that in “criticizing” their leaders they are being “unChristian.” Another problem of evaluation of ministry is that the actual criteria for evaluation are elusive -- many committees who must evaluate candidates for ministry (in the ordination process or in the call/appointment process) “know it when they see it” but struggle to name what they know. Without evaluation, however, expectations and disappointments may never be clarified. Conflicts may erupt that leave persons feeling blind sited and betrayed. Congregations and ministers cannot change course -- a death knell to congregations and ministers in a climate of significant social change.
We at CRCDS invite our students to be curious about critique so that they may discover their growing edges. A good evaluation process in Supervised Ministry is necessary so that students experience the value of evaluation. Satisfying evaluations can help students learn to lead congregations in evaluations that enhance rather than detract from ministry. Such evaluations can help all of the participants live more faithfully and meaningfully. Evaluation that is collaborative and leads to small confirmations and adjustments builds confidence in the mission and direction a congregation and a minister have chosen. Evaluation and reevaluation are an ongoing process.
Evaluation as it is understood in Supervised Ministry is a collaborative exercise in which the student, supervisor, site committee, and faculty participate. It is guided by the concrete, measurable learning goals that are usually found in a Learning Covenant. The specific learning goals of the student, however, aim toward lifelong learning and formation: the development of practical wisdom.
This lifelong learning goal involves at least three interrelated ideas that relate to practical endeavors, such as ministry – technical competence, vocation, and practical wisdom. This triad offers some clarification of the more elusive sense that “we know good ministry when we see it.”
Technical competence: Effective ministry involves “technical knowledge” or skills. Such skills contribute toward or express a minister’s understanding of ministry.
They include the following skills:
1. To communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing;
2. To proclaim the Christian Gospel through preaching and other forms of communication, and to interpret the Scriptures with fidelity to the tradition and sensitivity to the human condition;
3. To teach and to design educational programs appropriate to the content to be taught, and the needs and abilities of the learners;
4. To observe sensitively and perceptively the lives of individuals and of human society, and to analyze and interpret human events at both the individual and societal levels in the light of biblical faith;
5. To engage with diverse ideas and persons to maintain a clear sense of purpose, but to tolerate frustration and ambiguity, and to relate to persons and cultures whose background, experience, and history differ;
6. To participate with persons, families, and groups in a healing, restorative, and corrective fashion, and to act responsibly in relation to their needs;
7. To understand and to move with skill in the midst of systems, structures, and institutions;
8. To deal creatively with conflict and to enable others to do so;
9. To be an agent of change at individual and institutional levels;
10. To exhibit a style of leadership which will set loose the creative abilities of others and develop their ministries within the body,
11. To lead a congregation or body of persons in the discovery of commitment to those goals and objectives which will define its mission;
12. To work in a collaborative fashion with others, both those within the profession and those outside it.
Evaluation is an ongoing process -- in class, in supervision, in site committees. Twice a year, however, the student, the supervisor, the site committee, and the faculty require formal, written evaluations. Copies of the evaluation forms with specific guidelines are included in the Appendix of this manual. Evaluations are guided by the learning covenant and also offer an opportunity to revise the learning covenant, as appropriate. Evaluations also reflect upon the triad of technical competence, vocational development, and practical wisdom described above.
EXHIBIT C
SITE COMMITTEE COVENANT
Due May 15
Dear Site Committee Members,
Thanks for your willingness to participate as a Site Committee Members in Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School’s Supervised Ministry program. We appreciate the gifts of time and wisdom that you are offering to our Student.
Please read the portions of the Supervised Ministry Handbook that deal with the role and responsibilities of the Site Committee. The information found on these pages will guide your work through the Supervised Ministry Education year. I respectfully request that you do the following:
1. Attend the Orientation Meeting in the Fall.
2. Meet with your Student monthly and prepare minutes of your meeting. Your Student is required to turn in minutes from your meetings, three sets of minutes for the Fall Term, and three sets of minutes for the Spring Term. To read and review supervisor’s documents as requested on the syllabus.
3. To meet monthly with your student for reflection and to review progress on learning goals.
4. To provide written evaluations on December 1 and May 1.
Congregation/Agency: __________________________________________________
Student: _______________________________________________________________
Site Committee Convener e-mail and name (please print name) ____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________ __________________________
Site Committee Convener’s Signature Site Committee Member’s Signature
_____________________________________ ______________________________________
Site Committee Member’s Signature Site Committee Member’s Signature
_____________________________________ ______________________________________
Site Committee Member’s Signature Site Committee Member’s Signature
Please select at least two members of the Site Committee by May 15. The remaining members can be selected in the Fall and this form amended.
EXHIBIT E
SITE COMMITTEE
MIDYEAR EVALUATION FORM
Due December 1
COLGATE ROCHESTER CROZER DIVINITY SCHOOL
Supervised Ministry PROGRAM
STUDENT ___________________________ EVALUATION DATE________________
SITE COMMITTEE CONVENER __________________________________
SITE ____________________________________________________________
Guidelines
For each area, summarize the performance, personal and professional growth, and the use of resources helpful to the student.
1. Entry into the Site: What steps did the site take to welcome the student into the community? How has the student integrated him/herself into the life of the site?
2. Learning Covenant: Review the student's progress and goals/objectives pertinent to this semester. Any revisions to the Learning Covenant must be attached to this evaluation form.
3. Site Committee: Comment on planning of agenda, content, and process of the meetings.
4. General Comments: Include summary remarks about student’s skills, vocational development, growing edges for the Spring Term and practical wisdom.
Prepare your evaluation summary and attach to this sheet. Return to the Supervised Ministry Faculty by December 1.
______________________________________ _____________________________________
Student's Signature Supervisor's Signature
___________________________________ _____________________________________
Site Committee Convener's Signature Site Committee Member's Signature
___________________________________ _____________________________________
Site Committee Member's Signature Site Committee Member's Signature
__________________________________ _____________________________________
Site Committee Member's Signature Site Committee Member's Signature
EXHIBIT H
SITE COMMITTEE
FINAL EVALUATION FORM (page 1 of 2)
COLGATE ROCHESTER CROZER DIVINITY SCHOOL
Supervised Ministry PROGRAM
Due May 1
STUDENT ____________________________ EVALUATION DATE ________________
SITE COMMITTEE CONVENER_____________________________________
SITE ____________________________________________________________
Please comment in regard to each of the following: * (use extra pages if needed)
1. Application to learning about and understanding of the ministry context:
2. Willingness and effort to build relationships in the ministry context:
3. Openness to listen to and learn from others, including ability to receive criticism:
4. Evidence of creative thinking and willingness to take initiatives:
5. Ability to risk and response to failure:
6. Ability to communicate in up-front situations:
7. Punctuality:
8. Evidence that student is well-prepared for set tasks:
9. Capacity to relate and work in a team situation:
10. Ethically appropriate behavior:
11. Ability to make decisions and get a job done:
12. Capacity to address tense situations rather than withdraw from them:
13. Sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others:
14. Capacity to support others:
15. Respect for opinions, beliefs and ideas of others:
16. Respect for authority and healthy exercise of power:
17. Integration of theology and the practice of ministry:
18. Appropriate balance between ministry and personal life:
19. Signs of growing ministerial identity and self-awareness:
20. Comment on the students potential for Pastoral Ministry.
Prepare your evaluation summary and attach to this sheet. Return to the Director of Supervised Ministry by May 1.
_____________________________________ ______________________________________
Student's Signature Supervisor's Signature
_____________________________________ _____________________________________
Site Committee Convener's Signature Site Committee Member's Signature
_____________________________________ ______________________________________
Site Committee Member's Signature Site Committee Member's Signature
_____________________________________ ______________________________________
Site Commitee Member's Signature Site Committee Member's Signature
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