CAMDEN — When the Rev. Ute Molitor announced her retirement, members and friends of First Congregational Church of Camden, UCC, were all saddened by the pending loss of her deep and wonderful leadership. But they were also pleased that their experience with her had been truly an uplifting time for the church, and the congregation celebrated that following Molitor’s final service February 23.

After Molitor’s announcement in late November, the leadership of the church immediately acted to start the process of filling the void when upon her departure at the end of February. Two tracks were undertaken.

The first track was to plan an event where the congregation could honor Molitor, express their gratitude and say goodbye and prepare for a smooth transition through her retirement process. Church leaders worked with Associate Minister the Rev. Patty Fox to determine where she would focus her time and efforts while a senior Intentional Interim Minister was sought. The church is grateful that Fox has stepped up to help fill many gaps until an Intentional Interim is called.

The second track was for the church leaders to speak with the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) to arrange for a representative to help walk the congregation through the process of beginning a search for an Intentional Interim Minister, as applications for this position come through the Conference. The Rev. John Fiscus, the Associate Minister of the Maine Conference, met with church’s governing board to discuss the process. It was determined through a lengthy discussion that the church did need an Intentional Interim Minister for a period of possibly 18-24 months. The Interim will then leave once a Settled Minister has been hired.

Intentional Interim Ministers have been specifically trained to walk a church through its strengths and weaknesses and to address issues before calling a new Settled Minister. An Intentional Interim will work along with us and a representative of the Maine Conference to prepare for the coming a new Settled Minister. Additionally, the Interim will help congregants process the loss of Molitor and see more clearly what the church’s longer-term ministerial needs are as it seeks a new Settled Minister.

The Intentional Interim committee has been formed and has met with Fiscus to review the process of preparing the Church Profile and how the candidates would be discussed and presented by the Maine Conference for the committee’s consideration. This is a highly confidential process and individuals will not be discussed with the congregation until one is chosen to be introduced as the candidate. The committee has met several times and is continuing to meet weekly. Presently it is still working on creating the Church Profile in accordance with the UCC’s list of needed inclusions. It is expected that the Profile will be completed and presented to the Maine Conference for approval in early March, at which time the committee will expect to start interviewing applicants.

The process for finding an Interim is usually fairly quick, as there are many trained ministers who are between churches or nearing retirement who then apply for these positions with the UCC, which then works with the regional councils to disseminate the applications.

For more information about the church, please contact the church office at 207-236-4821.