Other Options
If you wish to consider other options, look to what the UUA suggests:
1. Confronting the minister informally. (This is what I did initially
and the
results were disastrous for me due to the man's denial and emotional and
verbal abuse during the meeting. If you choose to take this approach, do
not
do it alone. Ask to have someone such as a therapist or pastoral
counselor
at your side.)
2. Confronting the congregation, informally or using its sexual harassment
policy if it has one; (You might accomplish this by speaking with the Chair of
the Pastoral Relations Committee or with a member of the Committee whom
you trust. This is truly a risky choice that again requires the support of
an
advocate or support person.)
3. Filing a complaint with the denomination; (initiating the Fitness Review
process) and
You must keep in mind that these options are not mutually exclusive. Options
for "Handling Complaints of Sexual Exploitation or Harassment" also appear on the UCC website in the Making Our Churches
Safe section of the site (www.ucc.org/ministries/safe/policy.html).
Polity of the UCC and How it Affects the Process
This is a crucial issue for you to understand before you make a decision about how
you will proceed. At each level of the church in the United Church of Christ, the decision making body is autonomous.
Thus, your state Conference cannot be held accountable to the national office, your local Committee on Ministry cannot be
held accountable to the state Conference and your local congregation cannot be held accountable to the Committee on Ministry.
So, for example, the Association, as the calling body, could conceivably take away a minister's authorization but the local
congregation, as the calling body as well, could allow that minister to remain and he or she could seek ministerial authorization
elsewhere. Personally, I saw the inability of individuals at higher levels within the church to procure crucial information
from or to influence individuals at lower levels due to this guarding of autonomy.
