Itinerant Pastors

[KagomeShuko]

I've known that the Methodists have Itinerant Pastors, but I don't really know how it all works.

Is it a yearly thing where pastors might move or might be appointed? Or a different time? It's every two years? Every five years? Does it depend on the Annual Conference?

Do pastors stay in an Annual Conference? I know they leave districts because the UMC I attend just had a pastor that accepted an assignment in a different district of the Louisiana Annual Conference.

And with accepting, can pastors say that they would rather stay where they are currently if they would like that?

Do pastors move all over the country?

Growing up in the ELCA, I know about the call process and search committees . . .

 

[Tolworth John]

I've known that the Methodists have Itinerant Pastors, but I don't really know how it all works

I can't speak for America but he's in the UK a Methodist minister is part of a circuit of churches and often has smaller churches as well as his own church to pastor. Who preaches where is determined by the circuit preaching plan.
Ever preacher whether ordained or lay preachers are on the plan and know which churches they will preach at for the next three months.
Minister are at there church usually for seven years before being moved to another church in the circuit or to another circuit.

The term itinerant preacher usually refers to a preacher who doesn't have there own church but is available to preach at other churches and normally get a fee that covers travel expenses plus.

Have a look in wiki it usually has information n met subjects or see if there is a central Methodist web site.

 

[Rawtheran]

I've known that the Methodists have Itinerant Pastors, but I don't really know how it all works.

Is it a yearly thing where pastors might move or might be appointed? Or a different time? It's every two years? Every five years? Does it depend on the Annual Conference?

Do pastors stay in an Annual Conference? I know they leave districts because the UMC I attend just had a pastor that accepted an assignment in a different district of the Louisiana Annual Conference.

And with accepting, can pastors say that they would rather stay where they are currently if they would like that?

Do pastors move all over the country?

Growing up in the ELCA, I know about the call process and search committees . . .

Provisional and Ordained Elders are members of what is known as an Annual Conference and the norm is to only itinerate within the conference itself. The only times that I've ever known a Pastor to leave a conference to go pastor in another state or area it is usually because of their spouse getting a new job. There are two different types of Itineracy that the UMC recognizes the first and most prominent one is called open Itineracy where an Ordained Pastor promises to go anywhere in the conference when there is an open vacancy at a church. The next time and the one we are seeing become more common in today's world is limited Itineracy where an Elder is limited to a specific area due to the needs of their family. In the West Ohio Conference for example there is an Ordained Elder who's wife is a doctor so he can only accept a position within the Cincinnati region. Finally, appointments for all church's only last a year and every year the Bishop and District Superintendents usually have to approve the Pastor staying another year but its honestly quite the norm for most appointments to last 5-10 years before a move is made. Most moves usually happen because it is the Pastors themselves that will request it. Usually during a church's charge conference the DS will ask the church and the Pastor how everything is going and if either one wants to request a move but again unless the Pastor or the church itself is in a severe state of crisis this usually doesn't happen. Something I should note is that the Bishop can at anytime and for any reason move a Pastor from one church to another but again this usually very rarely happens.

 

[actionsub]

I can't speak for America but he's in the UK a Methodist minister is part of a circuit of churches and often has smaller churches as well as his own church to pastor. Who preaches where is determined by the circuit preaching plan.
Ever preacher whether ordained or lay preachers are on the plan and know which churches they will preach at for the next three months.
Minister are at there church usually for seven years before being moved to another church in the circuit or to another circuit.

The term itinerant preacher usually refers to a preacher who doesn't have there own church but is available to preach at other churches and normally get a fee that covers travel expenses plus.

Have a look in wiki it usually has information n met subjects or see if there is a central Methodist web site.

In the states, "itineracy" means "I'll go where you send me to go, dear DS..." Instead of the UMC, we could have had IBM "Itineracy Based Ministry". That way it could be like the old computer company where it was joked that IBM really meant "I've Been Moved".
The UMC only has "circuits" to ensure that an elder in full connection is assured a full-time salary, and every church on the "circuit" has services every Sunday, either presided over by the elder in question or an associate serving as proxy.
Every year, whether to move on or go is generally decided by mutual agreement between the elder and the Bishop/DS. If the elder wants to stay on, and the church wants the elder to stay on, then they're generally not going to fix something that isn't broken. There are churches in my district where the lead pastor has been there for 20 years or so.

 

[seeking.IAM]

I grew up as a UMC preacher's kid. My dad served from the '50's to the 80's. Back in those days, the average stay of a pastor at a church was 3 to 4 years. My dad never had a pastorate longer than 4 years. Moving was not always a matter of a church or pastor requesting it. Often it was part of an elaborate game of checkers moving someone to find a place for someone else who may have been uphappy in his church or had them unhappy with him. Occaionally, my dad knew prior to conference if he was moving, but the more typical pattern in those days was one would find out at conference whether they were moving or staying. As a kid, annual conference was very unsettling. Mom and dad would go away for a few days and we would nervously wait to find out upon their return if we were leaving all of our friends we had just made to start over again. Thankfully, the UMC tends to keep pastors at one place longer now and be more family-friendly.

Also, in those days a pastor or a church could reject an appointment, but it was pretty much a given if either said "no," they would like their next option from the Bishop even less.

 

[actionsub]

I grew up as a UMC preacher's kid. My dad served from the '50's to the 80's. Back in those days, the average stay of a pastor at a church was 3 to 4 years. My dad never had a pastorate longer than 4 years. Moving was not always a matter of a church or pastor requesting it. Often it was part of an elaborate game of checkers moving someone to find a place for someone else who may have been uphappy in his church or had them unhappy with him. Occaionally, my dad knew prior to conference if he was moving, but the more typical pattern in those days was one would find out at conference whether they were moving or staying. As a kid, annual conference was very unsettling. Mom and dad would go away for a few days and we would nervously wait to find out upon their return if we were leaving all of our friends we had just made to start over again. Thankfully, the UMC tends to keep pastors at one place longer now and be more family-friendly.

Also, in those days a pastor or a church could reject and appointment, but it was pretty much a given if either said "no," they would like their next option from the Bishop even less.

True, what I was describing is the new norm. I'll bet AC had to be unnerving for a kid back then. Even now, if the DS calls and says "FYI, the Bishop will be calling you soon, he's got a great opportunity for you" it's generally a gift horse whose mouth should be examined quite closely. BUT...if you say "no", it's still the case that your other option is even worse.