An Update from Bridge ACM Rev. Leslie Etheredge

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There are so many exciting things going on with your Committee on Ministry (COM)! Over the last several months, it’s been my pleasure to work this amazing team and collaborate with them in the creation a new structure for COM that will help us be more organized and efficient. Thank you to all who have had a hand in this process!

In seeking to live into our “newish” Conference Wide COM, we recognized that this committee has done the work and fully educated themselves on what it means to serve on COM. Now it’s time to put it into action in the most hospitable, supportive, thorough and efficient way possible. We are ready and excited to present to you the RMC’s COM 2.0: an enhanced version of our COM that will allow us to more effectively execute our mission. Some of the names and positions have changed, and some of the workload has been more evenly distributed among all of COM’s members. Every member is valued and has an important role to fill in this most important work of our Conference and our denomination. 

As you may recall, our previous COM structure consisted of three subcommittees: Formation & Authorization (FAS), Supportive Oversight (SOS), and Accountability (ACS). In our new COM structure, those three committees have been reconfigured into two teams: Pre-Authorization (Pre-Auth) which deals with all authorizations for those who are not ordained in the UCC, and Post-Authorization (Post-Auth) which all matters pertaining to those already ordained in the UCC. Generally speaking, our Pre-Auth team handles business that was previously handled by FAS, while our Post-Auth team is taking over the matters previously handled by SOS and ACS. Of course, each team contains specific positions with specific roles. Check out the chart below for details. You can also view a PDF version of this chart by clicking here.

The COM is currently updating our instructions around Standing Requirements. Those updates will be coming soon, so stay tuned! We’re working for you and are here to support ordained clergy and our many candidates seeking authorization in the UCC and RMC.

The COM is also excited to host a Q&A table at Annual Celebration 2025. If you have questions, please come by our table to say hello in-person.