Call of a Pastor
People will often ask me how a pastor is placed in a congregation. The system used in the Moravian Church, Southern Province is a little complex, but it shares this responsibility among three entities:
- the Board of Elders and Board of Trustees of the congregation working as a Joint Board
- the Provincial Elders’ Conference (PEC) which represents the province in this process
- the pastor who receives the call to be the next pastor
When a church loses a pastor for whatever reason (called to another church, retirement, leave of absence, etc.), the PEC meets with the Joint Board to begin the process. The Joint Board completes questionnaires and statistical forms which will help the PEC to offer the names of pastors with gifts and experience consistent with the current needs of the congregation.
The PEC will submit one or two names of pastors for the Joint Board to consider. The Joint Board can choose one of these persons or ask for additional names of prospective pastors. The Joint Board may not contact a pastor directly. Neither is it to consult with members of the congregation who do not currently serve on either of the boards.
Once the Joint Board chooses a person to call, the PEC extends a call to the prospective pastor. The Joint Board will often request a meeting with the pastor which serves as an interview of sorts. A representative of the PEC is present and usually presides at these meetings between pastor and Joint Board.
Following the meeting, the Joint Board is asked if it wishes to confirm the call. If it does, the pastor must then decide whether or not to accept the call. If so, then a date for the pastor’s installation at that church is scheduled. A representative of the PEC is present on that date to conduct the installation.
Basically there are three votes in this process:
- one for the PEC
- one for the Joint Board
- one for the pastor
All three votes must be yes in order for the pastor to be placed in that congregation.