ministries

UNY Local Pastor Licensing School

The 2026 Upper New York Local Pastor Licensing School (LPLS) will be May 18-24, 2026 at Sky Lake Camp & Retreat Center. To register, click here.

The LPLS experience offers students a valuable opportunity to explore the fundamentals of pastoral ministry alongside peers, engage in meaningful dialogue with faculty and fellow students, and creatively begin their journey into pastoral ministry. Participants should have fulfilled the requirements to become certified candidates prior to enrolling.
To register for LPLS, approval is required from both the District Committee on Ministry (dCOM) and the District Superintendent. Additionally, Upper New York strongly recommends completing Safe Sanctuary Training before attending. Please bring a certificate (or copies) of successful completion to LPLS.

While completion of the LPLS satisfies part of the licensing process, the school itself does not issue the Local Pastor’s License. Upon completion of the candidacy requirements, the District Committee on Ordained Ministry shall vote to certify the candidacy and upon completion of the prescribed studies, recommend the granting of a license. The Board of Ordained Ministry must recommend those to be licensed to the Clergy Session of annual conference. Upon approval, they shall be listed in the journal as eligible to be appointed as local pastors. The license for pastoral ministry is not issued until the pastor is appointed to a charge. Between sessions of Annual Conference, the Board of Ordained Ministry may approve persons for licensing, to be verified at Clergy Session.

For more information, contact Rev. Simmons at revcsimmons@gmail.com.