How will the congregation be involved in shaping a refreshed vision for CTK Cambridge?

There is a Discovery and Vision Development process as part of the Cambridge Pastoral Transition process that started in early September. All members are welcome, needed, and encouraged to participate. The aim through the Discovery process is to collect a true and fair sample of CTK across all spectrums of its population. While some members of leadership (session, diaconate) will be involved, it will not be limited to leadership. The goal is to hear from the larger perspective of the church.

The Discovery Process as a whole protects against a church simply receiving the vision/aims of the incoming leader and having to adjust the church accordingly. It is about the next leader working with the church to clarify that vision and using his gift set to guide the church into the next stage of its life and ministry. This process is also not intended to retrofit the church with some new strategy or ministry model. Rather, this process is about getting down to who CTK actually is as a church (reality), determining what CTK wants and needs to be as a church (aspiration) and finding the right leader to bridge the gap between the two (leadership).

The first step was a "Discovery Weekend" with 25 participants on September 25th and 26th. The 25 participants were a cross-section of CTK’s membership, ranging in age, length of time at CTK, and various other criteria. During this weekend, the Discovery group walked through a series of exercises to try and answer three questions:

  1. What is the current reality of CTK?

  2. What does the church aspire to be?

  3. Who is the next suitable leader for this vision?


From interviews, surveys, and the Discovery Weekend, an assessment of the church was drawn up. That assessment has been shared with the entire congregation for additional input via a survey, so that everyone can be involved and have a voice.

Who leads CTK in the absence of a senior pastor?

A key part of our transition plan includes the placement of an Interim Pastor. Interim Pastors are seasoned pastors who - in their retirement - bring the wisdom of their life and ministry to transitioning churches. He will not be a candidate for the new senior pastor position but will serve in that role until our new leader is found. His job is to help transition us from Rick to our next Senior Pastor.

On a pastoral level, the Interim Pastor is expected to fill the same roles as Rick, without the local knowledge and history. Interims never assume they are going to establish the same relationships as the previous pastor, but they will provide all the core competencies of any lead pastor would (preaching, teaching, counsel, leadership).

In April of 2021, the CTK session issued a call to Rev. Clyde Godwin to be our interim pastor.

Is the Session going to pick our new pastor? How does that process work?

No, in our system of church governance, pastors are elected directly by the members of the church. CTK will form a Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) made up of members of the congregation and church leadership who will lead this process. At the end of the process, the PSC will make a recommendation to the congregation for a candidate that the members will vote on. The Presbytery also has to approve the elected candidate as a final step in the process. Please check out the PSC’s web page for more information on where they are in the process.

I just heard that Rick is stepping down - Why is this happening?

For several years, Rick has been working with the Cambridge elders to figure out when it would be best to finish his work at CTK, and preparing us to be ready for this time. As Rick says in his letter to the congregation regarding his reasons for stepping down, “The short answer is I feel quite convinced I have fulfilled God’s calling for me to CTK.” You can find his full letter here.

Is Rick retiring / what are his plans?

Rick and T are exploring new opportunities but don’t have firm plans at this time. They don’t have plans for leaving Cambridge anytime soon, but they will be doing some travel during the fall months and are looking forward to getting back together with people in person once the pandemic passes. You can probably find Rick on a golf course somewhere in the Boston area if he isn’t touring back roads of New England on his motorcycle.

This seems like a fast transition - what is the rush?

The elders have been working with Rick on transition plans over the past few years and in the fall of 2019, Rick let the elders know that he planned to step down in 2020. The session engaged McGowan and Associates, a consulting company that specifically helps churches in transition, to formally help with the transition in March 2020. (Learn more about McGowan and Associates in the Other Questions section of the FAQs.) While COVID-19 necessitated an adjustment and presents unique challenges given the congregation’s remote engagement, McGowan and Associates created a transition timeline that is consistent with other senior pastor transitions, but also meets the needs of Rick and T. They did this by working closely with Rick, T, and the elders throughout the process.

What is happening with the CTK congregational network?

The CTK congregational network (our multi-congregational church) has had a number of churches “particularize” in the past couple of years. This means they have become stand-alone churches with their own Sessions. Our congregation, CTK Cambridge, remains actively a part of the larger CTK multi-congregational church, along with Dorchester, Boston North, and Quincy. The Session of CTK has recently completed a plan for the future which defines our relationships and ministry efforts as a multi-congregational church for the next five years. This plan will be presented to all the CTK congregations at meetings in the near future and will be incorporated into the Discovery and Vision Development phases of the Cambridge pastoral transition process.

How has COVID-19 affected this transition?

As with everything during COVID, things are not the way we would want them. In fact, the inability for all of us to be together as a community is one of the most challenging aspects of this transition.

We were planning for the transition to take place in late spring / early summer with in-person announcements, events, and transition activities. We wanted to be physically together and collectively find joy in Rick and T’s time with us. COVID-19 delayed the timing and changed these plans significantly. However, we worship a God who is provident and steadfast in His love for His Church. His timing is not ours.