Dear Pastors and Staff Parish Relations Committee Chairs,

Thank you for your continuing work on Christ's behalf.

Every December the Bishop and Cabinet prepare for appointment making in the coming year by collecting and reviewing the annual reports of pastors and SPRCs of our Conference. Some of these reports are confidential between the pastor and the Cabinet; others are shared between the SPRC, the pastor and Cabinet.

This year we are thrilled to introduce the result of a collaboration between the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Cabinet, designed to help assess and develop greater strength in the ministry of the pastor and congregation. The Pastoral Leadership Feedback Worksheet links the shared work of the pastor and the SPRC to transformational leadership. We urge you to use this form as you work together to provide assessment, feedback and strategies to strengthen the pastor’s work in your particular ministry setting.

The use of this worksheet involves perceptions of the pastor and committee members, the sharing of the compiled summary of perceptions, and the development of an action plan involving the pastor and the SPRC. The report that the SPRC chairperson will write about this conversation concerning the perceptions, responses and action plan will be shared with the Cabinet. This report will also become a part of the pastor's confidential file at the district office.

This year, each SPRC is given the option to use either the form from prior years (Pastoral Assessment Form) or the new assessment process (Pastoral Leadership Feedback Worksheet).

As you prepare the required reports for both the pastor and SPRC, please refer to the checklist included in this letter and posted on the website, to be sure the necessary documents are completed. Please note that the Clergy Profile and the Local Church Profile are among the required forms this year.

In addition to the report documents listed on the checklist, these resources are available to help you in your work – again, on the conference website:

 Transformational Clergy Leaders – This is the standard clergy strive toward and on which they are evaluated at each stage of their work as pastors.

 The Duties of a Pastor – ¶ 340 of the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.

 The Duties of the Staff Parish Relations Committee – ¶ 258.2 of the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church Appointment Making – A description of the way appointments (pastoral assignments) are made in our Conference

As always, feel free to contact your Superintendent or the District Administration Center with any questions. Circuits may be a helpful resource for pastors, as well.

All forms and resources are available at the Conference website (cnumc.org) and are due to the District Administration Center by December 1, 2010. The completed forms may be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to District Administration Center, P.O. Box 980250 West Sacramento, CA 95798-0250.

Blessings for a fruitful year,