"This congregation was strong and healthy before I arrived. I have found great joy in the ministry we have shared and am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to serve alongside so many dedicated, loving people."
Senior Minister
"On behalf of Church Council, we want to assure the congregation that the church leadership feels confident about this church’s future. We are entering this transition period prayerfully and are grateful for this congregation’s health and the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
Moderator
Church Council
"Our entire staff is exceptional...we will remain strong in our dedication to our church family and in our worship, mission work, and other activities that bind us all together. Despite this period of change, so much that we love about ALUCC will remain the same."
Chair
Personnel Team
Senior Minister Kelly Brill announces her retirement, effective January 1, 2025. We encourage you to first read this letter from Kelly, sent to the congregation via email on August 17.
This letter, from Kyle Rose (Moderator) and Kelly Brill (Senior Minister) may help to answer your questions while also providing insight to the plans and processes that lie ahead for our Pastoral Transition and search.
Update - February 15, 2024
This week, the Search Committee finalized and submitted to the Living Water Association of the Heartland Conference the Avon Lake UCC Church Profile, which is a major milestone in the search for a new Senior Minister. It provides an overview of Avon Lake UCC to interested candidates, and reflects valuable data about our church and congregation, assesses our ministry practices and includes input from the community we serve. It also reflects the results of the Church Survey. We are grateful to all of you who submitted responses to the survey and for the invaluable information it provided.
The Church Profile will go public next week, at which point interested candidates can begin applying. Conference officials will review baseline requirements of the candidates, and, assuming they meet the requirements, the Search Committee will receive the ministerial profiles, which we will review and discuss. We will also check references and, with respect to certain candidates, conduct interviews.
While the publication of the Church Profile is a significant step in the Senior Minister search process, we are still in the early stages of this journey. In talking to conference officials, while we may (and will likely) receive some profiles from candidates right away, it is not uncommon for this next phase to take many months as it is a significant undertaking for candidates to prepare their ministerial profile and have it approved for the Search Committee review. We were given a timeline of six (6) months as a good guidepost for how long the window for reviewing candidates should stay open, although that can be shorter or longer, depending on the candidate pool.
We are acutely aware that the congregation remains extremely interested in this important process. However, as we move into this next stage, much of our work will be extremely confidential in nature, and we will not be able to provide many specific details. As we have throughout this process, we will provide periodic updates as we are able.
We continue to ask for your prayers as we work through this process. Especially in light of completing the Church Profile, we are strongly reminded of how special Avon Lake UCC is, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to finding the best candidate possible so that we can continue to offer an extravagant welcome and beacon of hope for our community.
Please stay connected with us throughout this process by visiting the Avon Lake UCC website under the “Pastoral Transition” tab.
Mallory Reinking
Chair, Search Committee
Our Search Committee was voted on and confirmed after worship on Sunday, November 5.
Thank you to these individuals for serving our congregation in the important role of finding our next Senior Minister.
Tim Harris, John Rice, Jonathon Whittlesey, Jasin Kessler, Bill Cowles
Emily Lotz, Teri Ann Jasany, Mallory Reinking, Judy Reich, Maureen Johnson
We welcome all those who are seeking a deeper relationship with God, a life patterned on the ways Jesus taught and lived, and an opportunity to make a difference for good in the world.
We are an Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ.
32801 Electric Blvd.
Avon Lake, OH 44012
440-933-3241
Office hours: 10:00 - 3:00 weekdays
Thank you for signing up for our email list! We send a Weekend Update email with events and opportunities coming up in the life of the church. On Saturday, look for our Worship Update email with information about the next day's service. Youth Ministry emails are also send out on Fridays.