Ministerial Search Packet 2024
Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman
2307 Columbine Drive
Durango, CO 81301
978-809-9750 cell
[email protected]
Ministerial_Record
Dear Congregation in Search:
Welcome to this packet about my ministry. I am pleased to have this opportunity for us to become better acquainted. Here you can learn more about my call to ministry. I have served eight transitioning ministries and one contract ministry to date. I hold full fellowship in UU ministry and am also a UU Accredited Interim Minister. I also hold credentialing as a Professional Transition Specialist with the interfaith Interim Ministry Network (IMN). Most recently, I completed credentialing as a Facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal (CCR), the sponsor of a spiritual development program, generally referred to as “Circles of Trust,” which I include to great effect in my ministry with congregations.
I love the diversity of experiences I have had in UU ministry. The congregations I've served have ranged in size from one hundred to four hundred, in different regions of the country from the Northeast to the Rocky Mountains. One position followed a twenty-year settled ministry, another was in a church with rapid turn-over of settled ministers. One ministry followed a long co-ministry. Several called for re-framing congregational habits resulting from the after-effects of clergy and/or staff misconduct and boundary violations, often referred to as "afterpastor" ministry. One setting was half-time: the others full-time. The length of my ministries with any given congregation has ranged from one to four years. I am currently concluding a two-year interim position in southwest Colorado. I have responded as creatively and productively as I can to each particular ministry setting, just as I will commit to serving your unique circumstances if I become your next minister.
Certainly, ministry in this post-covid time has taken on many new habits and modes for creating community. As congregations continue to emerge from the effects of pandemic closures, new worlds of possibilities for “doing church” are emerging, as we continue to explore options for hybrid and multi-platform worship, social media outreach, advocacy for anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism (AR AO MC), new applications of the meaning of membership, and more. Indeed, these are times of both challenge and opportunity. I am certain that new visions for liberal religion await us, calling congregations and ministers to rethink our missions, to evaluate what really matters in our communities, to live with even more surety the values of Unitarian Universalism as we move toward adopting Article II, to consider what is essential so to not fall back on a previous "normal," and to continue to shift the paradigm of our religious community from "me" to "we."
In addition to the overall purpose of an interim ministry to guide a congregation toward a new settled ministry, I will bring all the resources and experiences I have gathered during these many ministries to support my next congregation as we journey together through the challenges and joys of religious community which await us. Together we can grieve the loss of some aspects of the pre-covid church as we knew it, the ministries just concluded, and possible departures and passing of beloved congregants, while also embracing new habits, new covenants, new visions for what it means to be a faith community and a religious movement of the future. As your transitioning minister, I will draw on the range of resources and experiences I have enjoyed to date to serve you to the best of my ability during this next phase of post-pandemic church.
As your transitioning minister, I would draw on the range of resources and experiences I have enjoyed to date, so to serve you to the best of my ability during this next phase of your congregational life. Since entering the AIM program in 2012, I have attended every annual retreat for professional development with UU colleagues. I gained full AIM status in 2015. These AIM gatherings, complemented by on-going connections with other transitioning ministers through mentoring, emailing, online meetings, and personal conversations, offer me continual growth in this specialized ministry. In addition to connections in UU networks, as a Professional Transition Specialist in the Interim Ministry Network after completing their three-day and five-day retreats and fieldwork, I have wonderful opportunities for new perspectives on processes which a congregation experiences during ministerial change. The Interim Ministry Network also provides professional development through a national annual conference and quarterly webinars. Finally, my most recent credentialing as a Facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal, an international program for spiritual growth based on the writing of Quaker Parker Palmer, has expanded yet further my perspective on transitioning UU ministry. As I continue to learn from these professional connections, in turn the congregations I serve benefit. In particular, in several past ministries my training and experience working with congregations as they transition from the aftereffects of misconduct and boundary violations has supported their capacity to move forward with new visions for community. My experiences in "afterpastor" ministry may be helpful for another congregation which has also known abuse of power by professional staff and/or congregants.
To any ministry, I bring other life experiences. From my prior career as a university music history professor and performer, from graduate studies in Public Management, and from parenting two children, I have developed a pretty keen sense of organizational management. From my experiences in hospital chaplaincies and from personal spiritual development from the Center for Courage and Renewal, I bring heart and soul practices which I hope will inspire similar habits in congregations.
I enjoy transitioning ministry. It appeals to my nature, in part because its faster pace offers measurable results within a relatively short time. I am particularly suited to organizational and problem-solving aspects of congregational life, often required for congregations in transition, in areas such as staff supervision, training of lay leadership, and coordinating and mentoring lay leaders and musicians for worship services. Equally important, I can offer the pastoring skills of caring and concern that are needed in our congregations in times of change, many still experiencing aftereffects of pandemic, as well as departures of previous beloved ministers. I believe one of my best contributions in my ministries to date has been in offering best practices in worship, central to community life in virtually all congregations. I aim to demonstrate worship leadership through my own preaching, as well as in mentoring of lay leaders. I have seen that effective and engaging worship can be a catalyst for change in other areas of congregational life. In several congregations I have served, as core practices of worship expanded, attendance and interest in membership increased significantly.
Admittedly, a time of change in professional ministry may involve some challenges. A ministry of change might at first be challenging. I try to make every challenge a learning opportunity, for myself and my congregation. The good news is that challenges pale in comparison with the joys from growing together in Beloved Community. I consider it an honor to minister to people of liberal faith as we together pursue this journey called life.
I invite you to examine information about me and my ministry and I look forward to getting to know your congregation better through materials and conversations. I can send you a list of references on request. Let’s see if we are a good match for each other.
In Faith and Courage,
Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman
Welcome to this packet about my ministry. I am pleased to have this opportunity for us to become better acquainted. Here you can learn more about my call to ministry. I have served eight transitioning ministries and one contract ministry to date. I hold full fellowship in UU ministry and am also a UU Accredited Interim Minister. I also hold credentialing as a Professional Transition Specialist with the interfaith Interim Ministry Network (IMN). Most recently, I completed credentialing as a Facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal (CCR), the sponsor of a spiritual development program, generally referred to as “Circles of Trust,” which I include to great effect in my ministry with congregations.
I love the diversity of experiences I have had in UU ministry. The congregations I've served have ranged in size from one hundred to four hundred, in different regions of the country from the Northeast to the Rocky Mountains. One position followed a twenty-year settled ministry, another was in a church with rapid turn-over of settled ministers. One ministry followed a long co-ministry. Several called for re-framing congregational habits resulting from the after-effects of clergy and/or staff misconduct and boundary violations, often referred to as "afterpastor" ministry. One setting was half-time: the others full-time. The length of my ministries with any given congregation has ranged from one to four years. I am currently concluding a two-year interim position in southwest Colorado. I have responded as creatively and productively as I can to each particular ministry setting, just as I will commit to serving your unique circumstances if I become your next minister.
Certainly, ministry in this post-covid time has taken on many new habits and modes for creating community. As congregations continue to emerge from the effects of pandemic closures, new worlds of possibilities for “doing church” are emerging, as we continue to explore options for hybrid and multi-platform worship, social media outreach, advocacy for anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism (AR AO MC), new applications of the meaning of membership, and more. Indeed, these are times of both challenge and opportunity. I am certain that new visions for liberal religion await us, calling congregations and ministers to rethink our missions, to evaluate what really matters in our communities, to live with even more surety the values of Unitarian Universalism as we move toward adopting Article II, to consider what is essential so to not fall back on a previous "normal," and to continue to shift the paradigm of our religious community from "me" to "we."
In addition to the overall purpose of an interim ministry to guide a congregation toward a new settled ministry, I will bring all the resources and experiences I have gathered during these many ministries to support my next congregation as we journey together through the challenges and joys of religious community which await us. Together we can grieve the loss of some aspects of the pre-covid church as we knew it, the ministries just concluded, and possible departures and passing of beloved congregants, while also embracing new habits, new covenants, new visions for what it means to be a faith community and a religious movement of the future. As your transitioning minister, I will draw on the range of resources and experiences I have enjoyed to date to serve you to the best of my ability during this next phase of post-pandemic church.
As your transitioning minister, I would draw on the range of resources and experiences I have enjoyed to date, so to serve you to the best of my ability during this next phase of your congregational life. Since entering the AIM program in 2012, I have attended every annual retreat for professional development with UU colleagues. I gained full AIM status in 2015. These AIM gatherings, complemented by on-going connections with other transitioning ministers through mentoring, emailing, online meetings, and personal conversations, offer me continual growth in this specialized ministry. In addition to connections in UU networks, as a Professional Transition Specialist in the Interim Ministry Network after completing their three-day and five-day retreats and fieldwork, I have wonderful opportunities for new perspectives on processes which a congregation experiences during ministerial change. The Interim Ministry Network also provides professional development through a national annual conference and quarterly webinars. Finally, my most recent credentialing as a Facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal, an international program for spiritual growth based on the writing of Quaker Parker Palmer, has expanded yet further my perspective on transitioning UU ministry. As I continue to learn from these professional connections, in turn the congregations I serve benefit. In particular, in several past ministries my training and experience working with congregations as they transition from the aftereffects of misconduct and boundary violations has supported their capacity to move forward with new visions for community. My experiences in "afterpastor" ministry may be helpful for another congregation which has also known abuse of power by professional staff and/or congregants.
To any ministry, I bring other life experiences. From my prior career as a university music history professor and performer, from graduate studies in Public Management, and from parenting two children, I have developed a pretty keen sense of organizational management. From my experiences in hospital chaplaincies and from personal spiritual development from the Center for Courage and Renewal, I bring heart and soul practices which I hope will inspire similar habits in congregations.
I enjoy transitioning ministry. It appeals to my nature, in part because its faster pace offers measurable results within a relatively short time. I am particularly suited to organizational and problem-solving aspects of congregational life, often required for congregations in transition, in areas such as staff supervision, training of lay leadership, and coordinating and mentoring lay leaders and musicians for worship services. Equally important, I can offer the pastoring skills of caring and concern that are needed in our congregations in times of change, many still experiencing aftereffects of pandemic, as well as departures of previous beloved ministers. I believe one of my best contributions in my ministries to date has been in offering best practices in worship, central to community life in virtually all congregations. I aim to demonstrate worship leadership through my own preaching, as well as in mentoring of lay leaders. I have seen that effective and engaging worship can be a catalyst for change in other areas of congregational life. In several congregations I have served, as core practices of worship expanded, attendance and interest in membership increased significantly.
Admittedly, a time of change in professional ministry may involve some challenges. A ministry of change might at first be challenging. I try to make every challenge a learning opportunity, for myself and my congregation. The good news is that challenges pale in comparison with the joys from growing together in Beloved Community. I consider it an honor to minister to people of liberal faith as we together pursue this journey called life.
I invite you to examine information about me and my ministry and I look forward to getting to know your congregation better through materials and conversations. I can send you a list of references on request. Let’s see if we are a good match for each other.
In Faith and Courage,
Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman
For my professional resume, see this link:
resume2024.rtf
Durango UU: Leading Time for All Ages; Receiving Gratitude from Congregation: 2023-24
Sunday Morning at UUCL, 2018 UU History Convo 2019 El Camino de Santiago, Spain, 2019
“Stand by this faith. Work for it and sacrifice for it.
There is nothing in all the world so important as to be loyal to this faith
which has placed before us the loftiest ideals.”
--- Olympia Brown
“Stand by this faith. Work for it and sacrifice for it.
There is nothing in all the world so important as to be loyal to this faith
which has placed before us the loftiest ideals.”
--- Olympia Brown