Transition-into-Ministry Residency

Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Des Moines, Iowa,
under a grant from the Lilly Foundation, is seeking to call two
Pastoral
Residents for a working period of 27 months (June 1, 2007-August 31,
2009). The Transition-into-Ministry (TiM) program will seek to help
new
ministers articulate their pastoral vocation, internalize disciplined
patterns of learning, and identify resources that will sustain them
through long and effective pastorates. Faithful ministry over the
long
haul requires relationships of integrity, patterns of reflection, and
resources for vocational renewal. Residents will be challenged to
devise models that incorporate these three characteristics of ministry
that can be employed in a wide range of ministerial settings.
Residents
will be helped to recognize their own needs, discover their own
resources-internal and external, and find the crucial places of prayer
and of laughter in their ministries. The position salary, including
benefits, is $52,390 annually. Letters of Intent are due January 19,
2007 and completed applications are due February 23, 2007. Invited
candidates will be interviewed in Des Moines at Plymouth during March,
2007 and notification in April, 2007. Please contact Frank Thomas,
Pastoral Residency Coordinator, at 515-255-3149; 515-778-5100 (cell);
or
fthomas@plymouthchurch.com for further information or to request
application materials.

Plymouth Church is an unusual church. In a period characterized by
decline in membership of the mainline churches, Plymouth has
demonstrated steady, if not spectacular growth-from 2,482 members in
1957 to a current membership of 3,058, with an average weekly worship
attendance of close to 1,000. We are not a downtown church, yet we
are
a part of the central city of Des Moines, residing in our present
location since 1926. As population in the area has shifted
increasingly
to the suburbs, Plymouth has remained in the city to conduct a
ministry
to the entire metropolitan area. We draw our membership from a
30-mile
radius, aided greatly by being only a few blocks from an interchange
of
I-235, the major east-west expressway through the core of the city.
As
recently as 2000, we recommitted ourselves to being a presence in the
city of Des Moines, expanding our building with a $10 million addition
for programming space. This new facility came on line in the fall of
2003, greatly enhancing our potential for ministry.

Plymouth Church is blessed with a strong and mutually supportive
program
staff team headed by Senior Minister David Ruhe. Each member of our
staff shares in the general pastoral ministry of the church and each
have a particular area of emphasis. Staff members work closely with
one
another as a collegial pastoral team, and with the lay leadership of
the
congregation in a spirit of collaboration.