Supervised Ministry
SUPERVISOR - Check List
Site Supervisor Covenant signed by ALL parties April 1
Supervisor C.V. Or Resume May 15
Site Committee Commitment Form May 15
Learning Covenant & Time Budget May 15
Code of Ethics August 30
Assist with Formulation of Site Committee
Attend Orientation September
Attend J C Wynn Conference - 4th Tuesday of February
Meet with Student Weekly
September February
Week 1, 2, 3, 4, Week 1, 2, 3, 4
October March
Week 1, 2, 3, 4 Week 1, 2, 3, 4
November April
Week 1, 2, 3, 4 Week 1, 2, 3, 4
Case Study – presented in class with Student
End of each Semester
Supervisors Evaluation December 1 April 1
Teaching Site
The teaching site provides the field-based learning opportunity for one student and agrees to offer the student a wide exposure to the practice of ministry so that he/she may exercise leadership, initiative, and creativity in ministry.
The teaching site specifically affords each student the possibility to accomplish a wide range of learning goals in the many areas of personal and professional growth, as they are appropriate to the selected site. Sites should be selected with the students’ learning goals in mind.
Each student should have some exposure to the following arts and activities of ministry: pastoral care, calling, hospital visitation, teaching, meeting leadership, baptisms, communion, weddings, wedding rehearsals, and funerals. When these ministries are not easily available within a congregation or agency, the Supervised Ministry program will augment the students’ experiences by pairing the student for a particular experience with a supervisor and student from another site.
A committee of representatives of the congregation or agency, usually called a “site committee,” works with the student on a regular basis to help the student learn from his or her experience. This committee represents a different place in the social structure of the institution than the supervisor and, therefore, broadens the point of view for interpreting the student’s ministry.
Students spend three hours a week in class for twenty-six weeks. Students will have some limited preparation for class. Churches and agencies should expect students to spend approximately twelve hours per week throughout the academic year in Supervised Ministry (usually September through mid-May, excluding official school holidays and other designated times when class is not in session). The total of class and field placement time is 312 hours per year. Students are encouraged to establish their relationship with the site in the summer preceding the class and to begin to accumulate hours. If students work during summer or the January term, the hours may be calculated in the total hours. Students will keep a log of hours and how they were spent. This twelve-hour time period includes preparation time for duties in the church or agency, as well as time actually spent in the site.
Students may not do Supervised Ministry in their “home congregation.” A home congregation is defined as a congregation that is recommending a student for ordination or guiding a student in the ordination process.
Churches and agencies should consult with the Supervised Ministry faculty whenever concerns arise within the Supervised Ministry site. Early consultation can be very helpful in resolving issues between the student and teaching site.
Supervision
Supervision at its best enables the learners to link their activities of ministry with their theological concepts of ministry, to select effective resources for understanding and addressing events for ministry, and to relate religious traditions and values to the human needs of the world. One finds a great deal of biblical precedence for this kind of process in the preparation of people for ministry.
(George I. Hunter, Supervision and Education Formation for Ministry)
See the official policy statement of the Association of Theological Supervised Ministry on “Excellence in Supervision” and the “Code of Ethics for Supervised Ministry Supervisors” provided in the Appendix of this Handbook.
Responsibilities of the Supervisor
Preceding Site Selection:
1. February: Attend the Site Fair
2. March: Meet with potential students, and negotiate learning covenants with students with whom the supervisor is willing to work, to be confirmed by CRCDS at the April Evaluation I.
3. April 15. The Site Covenant is due
4. May 15 Due Date: The Learning Covenant is due. After student completes April Evaluation I, submit signed learning goals, site supervisor covenant and site committees covenant with a minim of two names with contact information.
During the Year:
1. Consider reading along with the student the assigned chapter for the Supervised Ministry class. Supervision and Supervised Ministry are theological practices. Help the student build his/her theology of ministry through reflecting theologically on experience and event at the ministry site.
2. Participate in a Orientation meet in the beginning of the Fall Term
3. Participate in the Supervised Ministry class at CRCDS when your student presents a case from their Supervised Ministry Site.
4. Hold weekly supervisory sessions at a designated time and place with the student for a minimum of one hour per week.
5. Prepare a mid-year evaluation report, due in December 1, and a final evaluation report, due by April l (please honor this due date as your insights and wisdom will assist in the Evolution II process – which is an advancement tool of CRCDS). Lastly, assist with the collection of site committee evaluations each semester.
General Comments for the Site Supervisor
1. Supervisors must submit their résumé for faculty approval each year that they participate in the Supervised Ministry program.
2. Supervisors and sites that wish to be considered as approved Supervised Ministry sites must participate in the Supervised Ministry Site Fair and Orientation.
3. No more than one student may be placed in a site at a time.
4. Support for Supervised Ministry supervision, including a publications list, can be found on web page of the Association of Theological Supervised Ministry, at: http://www.atef.org
5. In appreciation for the supervisor’s service, the supervisor will be given a coupon that enables him or her to audit a CRCDS class tuition-free or attend a continuing education event for a reduced price. Coupons must be used within three years of such service.
Evaluation
Evaluation of ministry is an issue that many congregations avoid. Many congregations avoid evaluation of ministers and ministry because congregants are afraid that in “criticizing” their leaders they are being “unChristian.” Another problem of evaluation of ministry is that the actual criteria for evaluation are elusive -- many committees who must evaluate candidates for ministry (in the ordination process or in the call/appointment process) “know it when they see it” but struggle to name what they know. Without evaluation, however, expectations and disappointments may never be clarified. Conflicts may erupt that leave persons feeling blind sited and betrayed. Congregations and ministers cannot change course -- a death knell to congregations and ministers in a climate of significant social change.
We at CRCDS invite our students to be curious about critique so that they may discover their growing edges. A good evaluation process in Supervised Ministry is necessary so that students experience the value of evaluation. Satisfying evaluations can help students learn to lead congregations in evaluations that enhance rather than detract from ministry. Such evaluations can help all of the participants live more faithfully and meaningfully. Evaluation that is collaborative and leads to small confirmations and adjustments builds confidence in the mission and direction a congregation and a minister have chosen. Evaluation and reevaluation are an ongoing process.
Evaluation as it is understood in Supervised Ministry is a collaborative exercise in which the student, supervisor, site committee, and faculty participate. It is guided by the concrete, measurable learning goals that are usually found in a Learning Covenant. The specific learning goals of the student, however, aim toward lifelong learning and formation: the development of practical wisdom.
This lifelong learning goal involves at least three interrelated ideas that relate to practical endeavors, such as ministry – technical competence, vocation, and practical wisdom. This triad offers some clarification of the more elusive sense that “we know good ministry when we see it.”
Technical competence: Effective ministry involves “technical knowledge” or skills. Such skills contribute toward or express a minister’s understanding of ministry.
They include the following skills:
1. To communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing;
2. To proclaim the Christian Gospel through preaching and other forms of communication, and to interpret the Scriptures with fidelity to the tradition and sensitivity to the human condition;
3. To teach and to design educational programs appropriate to the content to be taught, and the needs and abilities of the learners;
4. To observe sensitively and perceptively the lives of individuals and of human society, and to analyze and interpret human events at both the individual and societal levels in the light of biblical faith;
5. To engage with diverse ideas and persons to maintain a clear sense of purpose, but to tolerate frustration and ambiguity, and to relate to persons and cultures whose background, experience, and history differ;
6. To participate with persons, families, and groups in a healing, restorative, and corrective fashion, and to act responsibly in relation to their needs;
7. To understand and to move with skill in the midst of systems, structures, and institutions;
8. To deal creatively with conflict and to enable others to do so;
9. To be an agent of change at individual and institutional levels;
10. To exhibit a style of leadership which will set loose the creative abilities of others and develop their ministries within the body,
11. To lead a congregation or body of persons in the discovery of commitment to those goals and objectives which will define its mission;
12. To work in a collaborative fashion with others, both those within the profession and those outside it.
Evaluation is an ongoing process -- in class, in supervision, in site committees. Twice a year, however, the student, the supervisor, the site committee, and the faculty require formal, written evaluations. Copies of the evaluation forms with specific guidelines are included in the Appendix of this manual. Evaluations are guided by the learning covenant and also offer an opportunity to revise the learning covenant, as appropriate. Evaluations also reflect upon the triad of technical competence, vocational development, and practical wisdom described above.
GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE LEARNING COVENANT
See Exhibit B
Learning Goals
Learning goals or objectives are formulated by the student with the assistance and consultation of the supervisor, and also of community members if they are involved in the process in the site. A goal is stated in a way so that it can be reviewed at the end of a semester to see if there is any behavioral or phenomenological way of knowing whether the goal has been met.
Learning goals can be job related, i.e.,
· To learn to teach a sixth-grade Sunday School class;
· To learn to conduct an every-member canvass;
· To learn to train laity to be youth group advisers;
Or, goals can be oriented toward personal growth, i.e.,
· To gain poise and confidence in leading public worship;
· To continue to grow in listening to ideas of others without becoming defensive;
Or, goals may focus on one's relationship with God and the Church, i.e.,
· To understand the relationship between the concept of “Laos of God” and "those people who seem to have only a passive interest in the Church.”
Once goals or objectives are determined, state them in concrete terms. For instance, even with something as ethereal as God's presence in healing, the Learning Covenant can include such things as participation in the healing services, calling on parishioners who attended such services and/or participation in a group, which concerns itself with healing. From these experiences, evaluate with the supervisor, objectively and subjectively, what is going on with the healing ministry. Unless learning goals are set, it is difficult to evaluate anything beyond outward performance in the job.
Learning goals themselves can be evaluated in light of the lifelong learning of development in skills, vocation and practical wisdom.
WITHDRAWAL FROM A SUPERVISED MINISTRY PLACEMENT
Once a supervisor and a site have been accredited and the student has filed the required paperwork and registered for Supervised Ministry, a letter of confirmation will be sent to the supervisor and to the student formalizing the relationship of student, site, and supervisor with the school. After that point, it is assumed that the Supervised Ministry course will be completed in that site.
In the event that questions arise about the viability of a student’s placement, the Director of Supervised Ministry shall be contact immediately. Termination of the relationship is an option, but it shall not be considered until the Students, Director of Supervised Ministry and the Supervisor have engaged in a process of conflict transformation to respond to the questions or issues that threaten the viability of the placement.
If for any reason the student, supervisor or site committee convener initiates a termination of the placement, the procedure is carried out according to policy on “withdrawal from a course” as stated in the Campus Handbook, pp. 20 - 21. The student must then retake this required course in order to complete the M. Div. degree.
EXHIBIT A
SITE SUPERVISOR’S COVENANT
Due April 1
Page 1 of 2
Dear Site Supervisors,
Thanks for your willingness to participate as a site supervisor in Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School’s Supervised Ministry Program. We appreciate your wiliness to offer your time, knowledge, and wisdom to our student and share in the process of honing her/his skills for ministry.
Please read the Supervised Ministry Handbook thoroughly to ascertain the responsibilities of the site Supervisor. As you and the student negotiate the learning covenant, the student is in effect applying to be your mentee, and you are applying to be his/her supervisor. The faculty confirms final negotiations when you and the student have submitted the learning covenant;
1. To return the paperwork for approval for the site, including your résumé or curriculum vitae with your supervisor covenant for approval by the faculty.
2. To read and review supervisor’s documents as requested on the syllabus.
3. To meet weekly with your student for supervisory sessions.
4. To assist your student in setting up the site committee.
5. To be involved in the class when your student presenter a case.
6. To attend an Orientation meeting. If you are unable to attend, I will meet with you individually.
7. To provide written evaluations in a timely fashion, due in December 1 and April 1st.
8. To participate in a review of premature termination should that become necessary.
In appreciation for your service, you will be given a coupon that enables you to register as an auditor for a CRCDS class for free or continuing education event for a reduced price. Coupons may not be used for credit courses.
SITE SUPERVISOR’S COVENANT
Page 2 of 2
We are deeply appreciative of your service and look forward to a good year. You will receive a written confirmation of this agreement from the Supervised Ministry faculty.
Agreed to by:
Site Supervisor: Please print name and sign: ________________________________
(Print on this line) ______________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Phone: ______________________________________________________________
Email address: _________________________________________________________
Seminary Representative ________________________________________________
Student: _______________________________________________________________
Contact information for Site:
Congregation/Agency: __________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Phone: ______________________________________________________________
Email address: _________________________________________________________
EXHIBIT B
LEARNING COVENANT (Sample Outline)
Due May 15
Page 1 of 2
STUDENT____________________________________________________________________
SITE ___________________________________________________________
A. LEARNING GOALS
1.
2.
3.
(Etc.)
Average Weekly
B. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Time in Hours
Sunday Morning (average time)
(Outline duties and times)
Other than Sunday Morning Responsibilities (average time)
(Outline specific duties and responsibilities)
(Indicate when, i.e., “Monday afternoon”)
Preparation Time (average time)
(Specify for what purpose)
Staff Time (average time)
(Staff meeting or instruction time for student)
Supervision (average time)
(Indicate when, i.e., “Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m.”)
LEARNING COVENANT (Sample Outline)
Page 2 of 2
Site Committee Meeting (average time)
(Indicate when, i.e., “3rd Monday at 8:00 p.m.”)
Travel - to and from Site (average time)
Any Specific Agreements between Supervisor and Student
The above agreement will be reviewed at the end of each semester during the evaluation period and modified according to the mutual consent of student and supervisor in accordance with the learning process of the student and the needs of the site.
_______________________________________ ____________________________________
Student’s Signature Supervisor’s Signature
_______________________________________
Date
The student is responsible to see that a copy of this covenant and any revisions are forwarded to the Supervised Ministry faculty by the due date.
***********************
(Format for this covenant has been borrowed from Pastoral Education and Formation: A Manual for Supervised Ministry, by the Rev. Edward R. Morgan, III, D. Min., Virginia Theological Seminary.)
EXHIBIT D
SUPERVISOR
MIDYEAR EVALUATION FORM
Due December 1
COLGATE ROCHESTER CROZER DIVINITY SCHOOL
Supervised Ministry PROGRAM
STUDENT _____________________________EVALUATION DATE______________
SUPERVISOR___________________________________________________________
SITE______________________________________________________
Guidelines
For each area, summarize the performance, personal and professional growth, and the use of resources helpful to the student.
1. Entry into the Site: Is the student sufficiently “on board” in relationship to you, the site committee, and people of site? What steps did the site take to welcome the student into the community? How has the student integrated him/herself into the life of the site?
2. Learning Covenant: Review the student’s progress and goals/objectives pertinent to this semester. Any revisions to the Learning Covenant must be attached to this evaluation form.
3. Supervision: Review type and consistency of supervision, satisfaction, growth, and problems.
4. Site Committee: How did the process of forming the committee go?
5. General Comments: Include summary remarks about student’s skills, vocational development, growing edges for the Spring Term and practical wisdom.
Prepare your evaluation summary and attach to this sheet. Return to the Supervised Ministry Faculty by December 1
_____________________________________ ________________________________Student's Signature Supervisor's Signature
EXHIBIT G
SUPERVISOR
FINAL EVALUATION FORM (page 1 of 2)
Due April 1
COLGATE ROCHESTER CROZER DIVINITY SCHOOL
Supervised Ministry PROGRAM
STUDENT ______________________________ EVALUATION DATE ___________
SUPERVISOR___________________________________________________________
SITE______________________________________________________
Please comment in regard to each of the following: * (use extra pages if needed)
1. Application to learning about and understanding of the ministry context:
2. Willingness and effort to build relationships in the ministry context:
3. Openness to listen to and learn from others, including ability to receive criticism:
4. Evidence of creative thinking and willingness to take initiatives:
5. Ability to risk and response to failure:
6. Ability to communicate in up-front situations:
7. Punctuality:
8. Evidence that student is well-prepared for set tasks:
9. Capacity to relate and work in a team situation:
10. Ethically appropriate behavior:
11. Ability to make decisions and get a job done:
12. Capacity to address tense situations rather than withdraw from them:
13. Sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others:
14. Capacity to support others:
15. Respect for opinions, beliefs and ideas of others:
16. Respect for authority and healthy exercise of power:
17. Integration of theology and the practice of ministry:
18. Appropriate balance between ministry and personal life:
19. Signs of growing ministerial identity and self-awareness:
20. Comment on the students potential for Pastoral Ministry.
___________________________ ______________________________
Signature of Supervisor Date
___________________________ ______________________________
Signature of Student Date
Prepare your evaluation summary and attach to this sheet. Return to the Supervised Ministry Faculty by April 1.
* Some questions from the Handbook of Trinity Theological College – The United Church in Australia,
EXHIBIT J
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
A Code of Ethics for Supervised Ministry
(Adapted from the Columbia Theological Seminary Code of Ethics)
Supervised Ministry at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School seeks to prepare men and women for pastoral and public leadership in the Church and in society. Toward that end, theological students serve in Supervised Ministry settings with teaching congregations or agencies and alongside approved supervisors in order to learn through direct practices of ministry. From personal engagement with God’s people, interns have the opportunity to integrate what they have learned from life itself and from their educational experiences with the actual practice of ministry.
We believe that pastoral responsibilities must be fulfilled through healthy means of relating to one another. Pastoral integrity is absolutely critical to ministry praxis.
We, therefore, commit ourselves to the following “Code of Ethics for Supervised Ministry.”
Regarding Working Relationship and Interrelationship of Supervisors and Students.
A. Students and Supervisors will honor their educational responsibility to engage one another seriously in pastoral and theological reflection.
B. Students and Supervisors will avoid imposing their own theology upon those they serve or supervise.
C. Students and Supervisors will not abuse their relationship with each other to meet personal needs for sex, affection, affirmation, or power.
D. Students and Supervisors will not look to the other for personal therapy, even if the other has counseling credentials. Supervision involves attending to the Student’s emotions, but therapy, if warranted, will need to be provided by a third person outside of the supervisory relationship.
Regarding Appropriate Interpersonal Boundaries
A. Students and Supervisors will not engage in sexual, racial, or other harassment or exploitation of one another or other people.
B. Students and Supervisors will not enter into intimate sexual relationships with parishioners or clients, even if the relationship is consensual.
C. Students and Supervisors will avoid conflict-of-interest relationships (e.g., seeking financial help from church members, or using confidential information for personal advantage) that have the potential of impairing judgment or increasing the risk of personal or financial exploitation.
D. Students and Supervisors will be truthful and honest in their dealings with one another and with others. They will refrain from spreading false or malicious gossip about persons who are not present.
E. Students and Supervisors will not disclose pastoral confidences to anyone except when 1) it is mandated by law, 2) it may prevent a clear and immediate danger to self and or others, 3) it is used for the purpose of pastoral supervision, or 4) it is authorized in previously obtained written permission. Students will inform those encountered in pastoral care situations about these limits of confidentiality; and supervisors, more generally, will inform congregants about these limits.
Regarding Other Matters of Personal Integrity
A. Students and Supervisors will be faithful stewards of funds entrusted to their care and shall avoid exploiting the trust of others for financial gain.
B. Students and Supervisors will practice pastoral care within the reasonable realms of their competence. More specifically, unless professionally trained and certified, they will not present themselves as “counselors” or “therapists.” When called upon to function outside their realm of competence, they will enlist the guidance of others or refer to other professionals.
C. Students and Supervisors will give appropriate credit for sources quoted publicly and shall observe copyright laws.
D. Students and Supervisors will refrain from alcohol and drug abuse, and if it should occur, they will seek professional help to overcome the problem.
E. Students and Supervisors will not discriminate against or refuse to offer ministry to others because of their race, gender, age, national origin, physical ability or sexual orientation.
Students and Supervisors are required to subscribe to this Code of Ethics for Supervised Ministry before
Beginning any internship under the auspices of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. This signed document will shall be kept on file in the Office of Supervised Ministry as long as the student is enrolled in the degree program Please make a copy for the personal file of the Supervisor and for the Student.
Please sign, print name and date.
Print Name ____________________________________________________
Supervisor (sign)__________________________Date________________
Print name __________________________________________
Student (sign)_________________________Date______________
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