Interim Minister FAQ
On July 14, 2008, the Reverend Kenneth J. Ross became the interim minister of the Bensalem Presbyterian Church. This is a brief explanation of who he is, and how the interim minister process works.
Who are you?
I was born and raised in the area, and have been a minister in the Philadelphia Presbytery for more than thirty years. From 1990 to 2006 I was on the staff of the Presbyterian Historical Society in
As you may have noticed, I am not a complete stranger to Bensalem Presbyterian. I was here for a year as part-time interim 22 years ago, have been back many times as pulpit supply, class instructor, lecturer, and occasional character actor. I am very happy to be back among friends.
What is an interim minister?
An “intentional interim minister” is someone specially trained in skills needed by a minister during the time of transition from one installed minister to the next. Having an interim minister rather than a series of pulpit supplies allows you to continue your worship and work without major interruption.
The session needs time to conduct a detailed church mission study, and – in due course – the Pastoral Nominating Committee (PNC) will need time to conduct its search for your next minister. This is important work and should not be rushed by a natural desire to “get back to normal” as soon as possible. I was invited by your session to this position, and I am accountable to the session and to the presbytery for my work.
Are you full time?
Yes! The main idea is that you know that you are covered by a full-time professional during the whole minister search process.
How long are you here?
For as long as it takes. Most congregations take between one and two years to call their next minister. Intentional interim ministers do not seek other calls until it is evident that the PNC is finishing up its work and the interim period is coming to an end.
What do you do?
While I am here, I will do all you expect a minister to do: preach, teach, administer the sacraments, call on the sick and homebound, and moderate the session. You will be seeing a lot of me, as it is part my job to attend all your meetings and social events, to learn all I can, and to ask lots of dumb questions. This is so that I can give useful feed back to your session and to your PNC about what you do well, what might be improved, and what new things might you try under your new pastoral leadership. In addition I will be asking a lot of questions of you and of your church officers, mostly to help you clarify in your own mind why you do what you do, what you like most about this church, and what you want most from a new minister.
Will you help us look for a minister?
No! My job is to provide recourses to help your elected PNC to do this job. Once the PNC is elected, I will be keeping my distance from their work. Presbytery is very clear that an interim must not influence or interfere with the work of the PNC.
If we like you, can you stay?
Double No! My job is to take care of you while you find someone else who will relocate to your community, put down roots, and become your installed minister for the long haul. It would be highly unethical of me to subvert that process by secretly (or openly) trying out for the job myself. Again, presbytery and the PC(USA) Book of Order are very clear: persons in temporary pastoral relationship may not succeed themselves. This does not mean that we can’t enjoy our time together and have a lot of fun. We are allowed to like, even love, each other! But everyone must understand that eventually I will go to make way for the new person.
How do we find you?
You can always call the office and, if I’m not there, leave a message. I live in
