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Mobility for Ordained Leaders

The process by which an ordained rostered leader [pastor] in this church moves from one call to a new call is commonly referred to as "mobility." Assisting rostered leaders, congregations, campus ministries, and other institutional settings in the call process, or other ministries seeking a new leader is primarily the responsibility of synodical bishops and their staffs. Standard mobility and congregational mission profile forms are developed by this unit and approved by the Conference of Bishops. The Conference of Bishops has affirmed these revised forms for use by ordained rostered persons available for call in all synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Recently, the forms were combined to create one downloadable form. The Ordained Mobility Form includes all personnel information for synod bishops, the availability for call section, and the roster sheet information. Sections of the form that are confidential may be shared with the calling congregation based on the synod bishop's judgment, but will not be copied and distributed to call committees.

Downloading Formatta Filler

Go to the Department for Information Technology's web site > go . Click on the FORMATTA FILLER button on the right-hand side of the web page under the column titled “Free Plug-Ins.” (note: Formatta Filler is now available for both PC and Mac operating systems.) Your browser will alert you with a pop-up window asking permission to download the file. Select OPEN to continue the process. An installation program will place Formatta Filler on the C:/ drive of your computer in the Program Files folder.

NOTE: If your browser or Internet Service Provider interferes with the installation program, you can choose SAVE THIS PROGRAM TO DISK. Put the installation program (FormattaFiller.exe) on your DESKTOP and double-click the Formatta Filler icon when the download is complete. The program will install as described above. Once the installation is complete you can delete the FormattaFiller.exe icon from your DESKTOP as this will only run once.

When the installation process is complete, Formatta will open with a Personal Information Form. You may choose to register your copy of the Formatta Filler application by completing the form. Otherwise, close out the program.

> download Full Formatta Filler
 

Getting the Form

Once Formatta Filler is installed on your computer, getting the forms is a simple matter. YOU MUST BE ON-LINE TO GET THE FORM. [If Formatta Filler is not open, click the START button on your computer, then PROGRAMS or ALL PROGRAMS and scroll to FORMATTA FILLER 7.0. Click FORMATTA FILLER 7.0 to open.] Formatta Filler opens with an empty form and several icons at the top of the page. Immediately to the left of the ELCA.org button at the top of the screen is a small down-arrow. Click the arrow and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on MOBILITY FORMS FOR ELCA ROSTERED PERSONS and you will be linked to the page with forms. Clicking on the form you desire should cause it to “pop” open.

NOTE: If you have difficulty opening the forms as described above, you can RIGHT-CLICK on the form name. Choose to SAVE the form and put it in the "My Forms" folder, which is in "My Documents." When you open Formatta Filler, click the OPEN icon and the forms will be there. Double-click the form to open it and begin work.

> download Ordained Mobility Form

For more information, call 773-380-5071.

Saving and Completing the Forms

When you first open a form, it is a good practice to save the form with a unique name. To do so, click FILE in the upper-left corner and then click SAVE AS. Change the file name to something unique, such as “MartinLuther-App.pff” and click SAVE. The forms are now saved on your computer and you do not need to return to the Web site to work on them.

To open Formatta and begin work on a form, click START, then PROGRAMS or ALL PROGRAMS and then scroll to FORMATTA FILLER 7.0. Click to open and then click the OPEN icon at the top of the empty form. The “My Forms” directory will open and all of the forms you have saved will be listed. Double-click the form you want to work on and begin filling. To save your work in progress, simply click the SAVE button at the top of the page and your current work will be saved.

Rostered persons who desire to be considered for call should complete the Ordained Mobility Form.  The form must be returned to the individual’s synod office. The bishop's signature confirms that you are a member of the synod roster. You may indicate the synod or synods where you would like to be considered for call. The synod office will distribute the mobility forms only to the designated synod or synods. At your request, the synod bishop may distribute the mobility information to all synods in the ELCA.

The synod bishop may request additional information. Your bishop is expected to provide a letter of recommendation to any synod bishop receiving your forms.

If you have any questions about the content of the questions, please contact your synod office for information.   If you have questions about downloading form, please call the 1.800.638.3522, ext. 5071.