MNYS CANDIDACY PROCESS:

ENTRANCE APPLICATION INFORMATION

MENU:

• Important Information

• Part 1: Application

• Part 2: Essay

• Part 3: Application Fee

• Part 4: Registration Packet

• Part 5: Transcripts

Important Information about Entrance

1. The Entrance Process for Candidacy is the first formal discernment by a Candidacy Committee and applicants of their readiness for Candidacy. 
2. At the conclusion of the Entrance Interview, the Candidacy Committee votes to either grant Entrance, deny Entrance or postpone Entrance with encouragement to work on areas that need development. A decision to grant Entrance officially accepts an applicant into Candidacy. 
3. PLEASE NOTE: Do NOT apply for entrance until you have had a discernment conversation with the Candidacy Coordinator, The Rev. Becca Seely

Materials Needed Prior to the Entrance Interview

To begin an application to Candidacy, please submit the following materials:

1. Entrance Application: 
   • Follow these steps to submit the application for Candidacy in the ELCA:
     • As a new candidate, you must create an ELCA Community account before you are able to submit an online Candidacy Application. Click HERE for helpful videos about creating an account.
     • After your ELCA Community account is created, you can log in and access the Leader Portal to complete a Candidacy application.
   • Once you have submitted your application online, please email Candidacy Administrator Leticia Silva to inform her that you have applied for Candidacy.​
     • Please note that the application will be sent electronically to the Metropolitan New York Synod.
2. Entrance Essay
   • ​​The Entrance Essay should be submitted on the same day as the Entrance Application. Please email the Entrance Essay in a Word or PDF document to Candidacy Administrator Leticia Silva. The prompts for this essay can be found at the end of the Candidacy Application.
   • Candidates are encouraged to write the Entrance Essay in the language that is most comfortable for them. The Candidacy Committee can have it translated, as needed, for members of the Committee who do not read that language.
3. Application Fee
   • ​​​The application fee to apply to Candidacy in the Metropolitan New York Synod is $1200. This fee helps offset the high costs of the psychological evaluation and the background check required for each applicant. The Metropolitan New York Synod covers the remainder of the costs related to these assessments after the application fee is paid. The Candidacy Committee strongly encourages an applicant’s home congregation to support their applying member by paying a portion of the application fee. This fee should be paid by check made out to “Metropolitan New York Synod” and have “Candidacy Application” in the memo. Please mail checks to Metropolitan New York Synod, ATTN: Leticia Silva, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1620, New York, NY 10115
   • If your congregation intends to pay a portion of the fee, please let Candidacy Administrator Leticia Silva know that as soon as possible.

     • If this fee is a financial hardship for the applicant, please email the Candidacy Coordinator, The Rev. Becca Seely.

4. Congregational Registration Packet
   • ​​Please share this packet with the pastor and lay leaders in your congregation of membership. This packet includes the following:

     • Congregational Registration and Support Forms:

       • The Congregational Registration Form should be filled out by your pastor and church council president. This form is your congregation’s opportunity to reflect on your gifts, calls, and growth opportunities.

       • The Congregational Support Form invites the congregation to discern how they can financially support you during the Candidacy Process, assuming a positive Entrance Decision is granted.

   • The Congregational Registration Packet should be emailed to Leticia Silva or mailed to Metropolitan New York Synod, ATTN: Leticia Silva, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1620, New York, NY 10115

5. Transcripts from any post-secondary degrees
   • ​​The Candidacy Committee requests transcripts from all college and graduate-level degrees earned by the applicant. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Please email any and all transcripts to Leticia Silva or mailed to Metropolitan New York Synod, ATTN: Leticia Silva, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1620, New York, NY 10115
   • Once the above materials have been received, the Candidacy Administrator will contact you with more information about scheduling your psychological evaluation, registering for a background check, and setting up an initial interview with a spiritual director. At that time, the Candidacy Administrator will also give you a tentative date for your Entrance Interview. 
     • Please note that the psychological evaluation and background check can be lengthy. Plan on these taking 2-3 months to be completed. We highly encourage you to schedule the psychological evaluation and complete the background check forms as soon as possible once you have received the invitation to do so.

   • Upon receipt of all required materials, the Metropolitan New York Synod Candidacy Committee will confirm the date of your Entrance Interview. This interview will be held at one of its regularly scheduled meetings – usually scheduled for March, June, October, and December each year. Please note that all materials, including the psychological evaluation report, background check report, and report from the spiritual director, must be received by the Candidacy Committee at least 14 days before your scheduled Entrance Interview for an applicant to be seen at that interview.

     • REMINDER: The ELCA Candidacy and the ELCA seminaries require that you have a Positive Entrance Decision no later than the end of your first semester of seminary.

   • Should an applicant receive a positive Entrance Decision, that person will be assigned a relator on the Metropolitan New York Synod Candidacy Committee. The Candidacy Coordinator will schedule a meeting with the newly entranced Candidate and their relator to create a Candidate Plan.