Transition Ministry is the term used in the Episcopal Church when congregations are in periods of transition between clergy leaders. Congregations are said to be “in transition” from when the Rector or Priest-in-Charge (PIC) announces her/his plans to leave the congregation until the next Rector/PIC is installed.

Activities during a transition phase might include creating opportunities for leave-taking with the departing Rector/PIC, discernment of the congregation’s needs and desires for clergy leadership in the near and distant future, the calling and selection of an Interim Priest, a Rector/PIC search process, and/or discernment about non-traditional models of leadership and parish organization. In the recent past, Transition Ministry was referred to as “Deployment”.