Internship Committee Handbook

Purpose of Internship Committees

The overall purpose of Field Education is to train students in ministry while, at the same time: 

• they are provided with supervision and support by both the setting and by the School of Theology.
• they test their call to ministry by experiencing the ministerial role itself.

Who is the Internship Committee? 

When Field Education takes place in a church, the Internship Committee is made up of four or more people who are from various areas and programs of the church; if the site is a community agency, the IC can include four or more people from the Board of Directors, the staff and, if possible, clients and others in the community being served by the agency. The appointment or election of the Committee itself depends on the policies or customs of the setting. 

What is the Work of the Internship Committee?

Another way to state the purpose of the Internship Committee is that it helps a student become more effective and more aware in his/her ministry. Some of the ways that a Committee assists in this process is by the following: 

Functions: The Committee will work alongside the student while giving both commentary and support to the student. Listening to a student and getting to know her or him is essential. In addition, members of the IC should make themselves available to receive feedback—both critical and affirming—from people being served by the student, taking care to suggest that people express themselves directly to the student when appropriate. 

The Committee can help students to think about their work in the context of their faith. That is, members can ask questions such as, "Where was God to be found in that difficult (or happy) situation?" or "What biblical stories relate to this occurrence?" "How does that affect your understanding of God? Jesus? The Holy Spirit? The Church? Humankind? Ministry?" "How does the mission and how do the cultural contexts of this church (or organization) affect the student’s work? How can we work within the organization’s mission and contexts and/or change them?" Committee members will want to ask such questions of themselves, as well as of the student. 

The Office of Professional Education provides training in this process, which we call "theological reflection,"(or "cultural/values-laden reflection") at the School of Theology or we can arrange to come out to meet with you for a training session. See also the attached sample agendas for some more suggestions. 

Meetings: The Committee should plan to meet at least monthly, more frequently if necessary. The chair of the committee can plan an agenda (being open to and seeking additions from others). Most of the meetings will include the supervisor and the student but a few meetings may not; certainly the organizational meeting to elect a chair and clarify the Committee’s role and perhaps one or two of the meetings to do evaluations could be for the Committee only. A typical agenda might include: 

Opening, report and observations by the student, theological/cultural reflection by all present, discussion of a particular event or an area of ministry, setting the date of the next meeting, ending.

(Some sample agendas are attached.) 

Transitions: By working with the supervisor, the Internship Committee can help the student through beginning, middle and ending of your time together; it is essential for board members, parishioners, clients, shut-ins, and the IC itself to have a chance to celebrate the student’s work and to experience the feelings of having that person leave. 

When a student starts in the setting, the church can introduce the congregation to her or him at Sunday worship. Perhaps on that day, the student can begin to participate in the service by reading Scripture, giving the children’s sermon, or in another way. After church, the coffee time could be a chance for people to get to know the student better. Short articles in the newsletter and bulletins will help people to know the new student’s role and something of her/his interests. 

In the middle of the academic year, often right after Christmas, those working with the student may sense growth in the student such as having a clearer sense of identity as a minister called by God. The Internship Committee may choose to mark this growth in a symbolic way such as by presenting a personal copy of a service book or another small item to him/her in a Sunday service or at a meeting. 

When it comes time for the student to leave, it is important that committees and groups have a chance to say their goodbyes and express their feelings. The Sunday service can include the recognition of the student’s work and opportunities to say goodbye. The IC may want to host a coffee or lunch after church. 

Community agencies and other sites will be able to devise ways to mark transitions that fit their settings. Some illustrations are: introducing the student at the first board meeting, writing an article for the newsletter, being sure that clients and board members have a chance to get the know the student and, later on, to say goodbye when the time comes. 

Note: The Chair of the Internship Committee calls meetings, pulls together agendas, attends training sessions at Boston University with other members of the IC, produces the formal evaluations based on the input of the IC, and generally serves as liaison for the Committee to the student, congregation/people being served, pastor/director, and the Office of Professional Education at the School of Theology. 

Requirements of an Internship Committee

Confidentiality - the discussions of the Committee are confidential and should not be referred to or shared outside of the meetings without specific clearance with the Committee and the student. 

Attendance - faithful attendance at meetings of the Internship Committee and at events and services of the organization is essential. Each person on the IC can attend all the training sessions at the School of Theology and attending at least two is considered baseline. 

Evaluating - the School of Theology requires formal evaluations twice during the year (see the attachments). From time to time, the Committee will give informal feedback, including comments of support as well as of possible suggested changes and areas for development for the student. 

Expectations - the "Learning Agreement" is a covenant entered into by the setting, the student, and the School of Theology that details what they expect from each other. Learning Agreements can be changed by agreement among the three parties, but, in general, the Agreement clarifies the work the student will do and the support and resources to be given by the setting and the School. (The Learning Agreement may be revised for the second semester. See the Field Education Handbook for more about the Learning Agreement.) 

Difficulties - Most sites remain relatively peaceful during the time that a student learns and works with them. Occasionally there will be tensions in any church or community setting. If these occur and are within the normal boundaries of the ups and downs of life together, then the Internship Committee can help the student to understand them. If there are serious difficulties between groups and/or persons in a Field Education setting, the Internship Committee and Supervisor will want to be sure that they avoid asking the student to "take sides." 

For its part, the Office of Professional Education of the School of Theology is ready to help in times of crisis and serious concern of any kind related to the student or to the placement. Please feel free to call us to keep us informed or to ask for our help in sorting out any difficulties that affect an internship. 

Internship Committee Evaluations

Evaluating Ministry is Not Easy

Most of us are evaluated in our jobs. Often these evaluations are easy to understand because they are readily measurable. For example, we might be evaluated for our "KPM," our "keystrokes per minute" while entering data on a computer, or on the dollar amount of our sales per month, or the hours we have logged that are billable to clients. These are quantifiable. 

Some of the work of ministry is quantifiable: did the student show up for most meetings on time? Was the sermon of approximately the accepted length? Did the student contact the people in the study group to let them know when the field trip was planned? Usually we begin to measure the tasks of ministry when we they are negative, that is, the minister-in-training is not visiting the sick, the student does not visit the community center as planned, and so on. 

However, most of the work of ministry is what is done, not what isn’t. Ministry evaluation is subtle and even based on impressions rather than data. Nonetheless, we must try to note growth in students to encourage them. We must give feedback about areas where we think there could be improvement so that they can add to their skills and abilities. We need to do this in the context of mutual evaluation, that is, how can we as the Internship Committee (or supervisor or Office of Professional Education, for that matter) improve our work? 

Evaluation Specifics

Internship Committees are responsible for two brief written evaluations of the student—one at mid-year and one at the end of the year (see samples attached). However, there should be no surprises when the formal evaluations are done because evaluation should be an ongoing process of give-and-take in which we consult with the student around her/his goals and growth at least monthly. 

Evaluations should be simple, clear, direct, and confidential. 

Evaluations should be based on: 

• the student’s learning agreement
• ministerial practices in general

Good ministerial practice is harder to define but the Internship Committee and student should talk about areas of ministry: relationships with staff, leaders and parishioners; preaching and speaking; writing; organizing and administration; faith development of everyone involved; visitation; and understanding that we are each called by God to our own work. Over the course of the year, the student’s call to ordained ministry will often become clearer to not only the student but to those who work with him/her. When you see this development in the student, affirm it. 

Remember: evaluation should be gentle, direct, firm, and loving—mutual (of the student and the Internship Committee)—and part of each month’s meeting. 

Sample IC Agenda - Church Setting

a)  Prayer by the Chair of the Committee or the Pastor (5 minutes) 
b)  Report by the student on her work this past month including (for example): 

elderly visitation, liturgist on two Sundays, and 
retreat planning for singles group. (20 minutes)

How does a person confined to their home by illness experience God, the church, and Creation? What Christian resources come to mind? (Some resources might be: a biblical story such as the paralytic man and his friends; the question of faith tested by hard times in our own lives; the issue of why some people seem to have "luck" who don’t deserve it while some really good people have no good luck; health, money or good relationships seem to pass them by. What does this say about God’s love?

d)  An area of ministry (One or two per meeting). For example home visits, administration, preaching, teaching, pastoral care, ministerial identity. This is an opportunity for the student, supervisor and Internship Committee to think about the an area of ministry and how to evaluate the effectiveness of the church. These will be opportunities to talk about specific programs, sermons, activities and behaviors and to give support and helpful suggestions for change. At certain times in the year, the Committee, supervisor and student will be required to evaluate their work formally. See the appendix for some evaluation tools.  (30 minutes) 

e)  Date of next meeting  (5 minutes) 

f)  Ending prayer, song, or benediction led by the student or a Committee member. (5 minutes) 

Note: these are meetings as much about the interactions in the meetings themselves as about the work of the student. Therefore, minutes are usually not necessary but you may want to keep notes. 

Sample IC Agenda - Community Setting
• Prayer - if appropriate in the setting (5 minutes)
• Report of the student’s activities since last meeting (for example: his meeting with a group of clients to discuss setting up a Bible study, working on the newsletter, visit to a shelter to see determine the needs there). (20 minutes)
• Discussing an area or two of the student’s work, for example: administration and organization; interactions with clients, staff, other agencies, or board members; counseling or teaching clients; and so on. (20 minutes)
• Reflection: Theological reflection if appropriate to the setting—see that section in the Church sample above. A Committee in a secular setting may use cultural and values-laden reflection if more appropriate. 

 

Cultural/Values-laden Reflection

To engage in meaningful reflection in a secular setting, the Committee must be clear above all about the mission of the organization. In addition, the Committee (and the student, boards, supervisor, etc.) must strive to define the "culture" of the setting, that is, what are the values under which it actually operates? How do its history, organization, funding, and personnel affect how the mission is carried out. Is there a difference between the agency’s "mission as written" and "mission as lived out?" How does the larger culture (of the state, city, country) affect the organization? 

Having begun the process of identifying the mission and culture of the site, the student and Committee can reflect on how the student’s work (and the work of the Committee and the supervisor as well) fits with the site’s mission and values as written and as lived. 

It may be helpful if movies, books and music are part of the cultural reflection. For instance, in a setting dealing with racism, the English movie "Secrets and Lies" could be relevant; in an agency working with families that batter, Roddy Doyle’s novel "The Woman who Walked Into Doors" might be useful. Stories from religions such as the Bible, Koran, and Tanakh, and from diverse cultures such as Native American, Asian, African-American, and specific regions of the United States may give deeper meaning to present experiences. 
(30 minutes) 

• From time to time, the Committee will talk about specific programs, sessions, activities and actions of the student to give support and perhaps helpful suggestions for change. At certain times in the year, the Committee, supervisor and student will be required to evaluate their work formally. See the appendix for some evaluation tools. (30 minutes)
• Date of next meeting (5 minutes)
• Ending prayer, song, or benediction—if appropriate--led by the student or a Committee member. (5 minutes)

Mid-Year (Church)

We very much enjoy having Sandra Sergey as our student. She has added enthusiasm and energy to our meetings and to our visitation program. 

She has worked with the goals of her learning agreement in the following ways: 

After some co-visits with the pastor to elderly shut-ins, Sandra has continued her visitations on a regular basis and the feedback has been quite good. For instance, she was able to handle one very individualistic, shut-in gentleman with care and good limit-setting; when he was hospitalized recently, he asked that Sandra visit him. 

In addition, Sandra has assisted as liturgist three times in the Sunday service. She has done well, though we agreed that she can work on clarity, perhaps with a little slower pace. At our first noon Advent service, she gave a short meditation that was excellent—thought-provoking and lively—which augurs well for her first preaching experience with us in January. 

Sandra seems to be growing in her sense of identity as a minister and as a person with a call to the local church, she doesn’t seem to feel odd any more wearing a robe at services or being called "Reverend Miss" by some of our older members. 

We all struggle at our meetings with "theological reflection" but we hope to improve our skills over the next few months. 

We look forward to the rest of the year with Sandra. 

Year-End (Community)

Dennis Muller has been a good intern in the Hispanic Community Center. When he first came to us, his Spanish was kind of bookish, but it has improved tremendously and he can even joke with people as well as really listen to them. 

Dennis has grown in other ways over this year. We as his Internship Committee can see that he has a real gift for community ministry because he has a sense of what God’s justice calls for from us. His faith seems to shine from him, yet he doesn’t push it on people who do not feel as he does and he seems able to listen to people of all faiths equally well. 

He has done a good job of researching the grants that might be available to the Center at the Massachusetts Foundation Resources Center. Dennis went on the group interview for a grant at the Boston Foundation and we felt he added a lot to the conversation while listening well too. 

The "area for growth" for Dennis Muller might be to be clearer about what he can and cannot do. When he first came to the Center, he would give out his home number to people who were in emergency situations. He learned gradually that he was becoming overstressed with that, as were his roommates. He still does need to find a way to not take every situation home with him because he would face burn-out, as some of us have, in the long run. 

We understand that Dennis wants to work in his denomination with immigrants and other who are having difficulty with everyday life issues here in the States. We feel that he would do an excellent job as he has done here.