Rev. Carole Baker, who has been pastor at the Central Congregational Church of Attleboro Falls for 23 years, said, “I was a member of one of the first Clergy Communities of Practice. I was one of the people in the Conference who pushed for this…and I feel that we all need to be engaged in honing our skills.”

For Baker, the value of such communities is clear: “Being together with your peers, talking about issues that come up in the church, in the world…this is important.” Baker says that being a part of her group helped her counteract the solitary nature of professional ministry. “This is a lonely profession, and [I do not want to be] a Lone Ranger in my parish.”
Baker feels that participating in a Clergy Community of Practice has also helped her preaching be more engaging and timely. The value of connecting with colleagues, particularly those in the same geographical area, has been another benefit.
 

And what about the future? “I would hope that we could get some ‘teeth’ into requiring continuing education units,” says Baker. “Perhaps not formal education, but something. It is so easy to get busy. If we are going to continue to have well educated and competent pastors, we need to push on this.”
 

Central Congregational Church of Attleboro Falls agrees with Rev. Baker. The church which is currently conducting a Capital Campaign has chosen to allocate 10% of the money raised to the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign. 
 

You can join other pastors and congregations in supporting the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Endowment Campaign. There are many ways which you can show your support:

 

* Make an Individual Pledge

* Make a Congregational Pledge
* Take a Special Offering
* Conduct a Wrap-Around Capital Campaign

Associate Conference Minister for Leadership Development 
(508) 875-5233, ext.233/email: sdickerman@macucc.org
 

Wrap-Around Campaign Consultant

(978) 582-6870/email: mcwms1@gmail.com