From Our Minister Archive
Start with the Step You Don't Want to Take
Dear friends,
My heart is aching as we continue to mourn in the aftermath of the tragic attacks in Orlando, which took place on the same day that we sent our marchers to the L.A. Pride Parade in solidarity for love and equality. I hope we will meet the challenge of these days with a renewed commitment to love and justice, which must include a more common sense approach to gun control in this country. We must change.
In the realm of congregational life, as you will read about elsewhere in this newsletter, your board took a big and positive step at their first meeting as newly elected leaders to commit to a 12- to 18-month right relations process with our congregational consultant, Nancy Edmundson. While the process is long and will ask a lot of you, your board, and me, I am hopeful and greet this new step with a spirit of renewed dedication to our community and our faith. When I first met Nancy earlier this spring, she sent me a poem by David Whyte that begins,
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
When it comes to navigating disagreement, sometimes it is hardest and best to start close in, and not get too far out ahead too fast. Sometimes the first step is a step backwards, even. But as long as we keep walking together, we’ll find our way.
Much heart,
Rev. Rebecca
PS: One step I do not want to take is to say farewell to my colleague and friend, Catherine Farmer Loya, as she and her family depart for Knoxville, TN. It has been a joy and an honor to collaborate with Catherine for the past six years and receive the gifts of her intellect, kindness, and integrity through her commitment and dedication to excellence for our religious exploration programs for children, youth, and adults. I have been deeply inspired and warmly embraced by her vision of our faith, and I will miss her. Please help us celebrate Catherine at a
special service and reception July 10.
PPS: Here is the full text of the poem Nancy sent me:
START CLOSE IN
By David Whyte
Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.
Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.
To find
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.
Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.
Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.
Hope Calls Us On!
In my sixth year of settled ministry with our congregation, we have walked together through a time of new possibilities, difficult challenges, and change and transition at 18th and Arizona. Last June, we welcomed Nica Eaton-Guinn as our part-time Summer Minister while the congregation sent me on a three-month maternity leave to welcome my son Benjamin to the world. Nica’s leadership in membership development, right relations, and worship arts were a particular gift of her summer with us.
I returned in late August to launch our church year with joyful, festive Ingathering services on the theme of spiritual journeys. The Committee on Ministry and I also completed the year-long preparations that had gone into planning my sabbatical, which began on September 28. While on sabbatical, I spent more time with my growing family, traveled to Yosemite and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and practiced the art of neighborliness in new and life-giving ways. Many thanks to Rev. Tera Little for her skillful ministry as our part-time Acting Minister during my sabbatical, including continuing to support our leadership in conflict management, pastoral care, and offering creative and inspiring worship services.
Since my return to full-time ministry in January, I have worked closely with our Board of Directors and Committee on Ministry to lead a process to better understand and clarify our congregation’s significant concerns about leadership, ministry, and our future together.
This spring and summer, we will celebrate two long-time and treasured staff members, DeReau Farrar and Catherine Farmer Loya, and mark the completion of their time with us. Before we send Catherine to the Tennessee Valley UU Church in Knoxville, TN, and DeReau to First Unitarian Church in Portland, OR, we will have time to share our appreciation for all they have given us, and the strong programs and ministries in religious education and music they are leaving with us now. It has truly been an honor to work with DeReau and Catherine, and I will miss them greatly. The Personnel Committee and I have begun to search for new staff to lead these vibrant parts of our congregation’s ministry.
It was a delight to officiate for the wedding of Leslie Beauvais and Ed Brand this year, where we sang together the words of Kate Wolf’s song, “Give yourself to love…” as Ed and Leslie gave themselves to their joyful partnership. We remember and are grateful for the lives of those we lost this year: Jessica Fant-Chapin, Ralph Meyer, and Dave Hallinan.
I thank you for your commitment to the practice of sharing our non-pledge offering each Sunday with organizations that do what we cannot do on our own. From July 1 to April 24, we gave away 60% of that non-pledge offering, to date over $11,000, to organizations such as Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUELA), Step Up on Second, Camp de Benneville Pines, Community Services Unlimited of South Los Angeles (CSU), OPCC (Ocean Park Community Center), Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), UU James Reeb Fund for Multicultural Ministries and Leadership and Black Lives of UU, Westside Food Bank, and WISE and Healthy Aging.
As we walk together into the future, and the vital, difficult work of building right relationship among us, I hope we will be guided by our covenant with one another, and with the larger faith we serve. In the words of my colleague Kendyl Gibbons:
Words and deeds of those before us
Waken here to keep us strong
Blend our voices with the chorus
Of creation’s living song
Courage bids us lift our eyes
Upward to the shining skies…
Hope calls us on!
In faith,
— Rev. Rebecca
This column is adapted from the Report on Ministry in our Annual Report.
For Our Church and for the Earth: A Time for Honesty, Integrity, and Wisdom
It is a difficult time for our congregation. We are facing significant challenges in leadership and in walking together in right relationship.
One of the ways I manage my anxiety in difficult times is to do my reading. Over the past painful weeks I have spent time with the writings of organizational systems leaders Peter Steinke and Edwin Friedman, as well as peacemaker John Paul Lederach. Former UUA staff member the Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley suggests further reading on leadership and conflict here: http://www.uua.org/safe/conflict (Incidentally, Rev. Cooley is one of my mentors and preached my installation sermon here in 2011.) I also read George Marshall’s “Don’t Even Think About It: Why We Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change” in preparation for our “Seeds of Change” worship series on climate justice.
Marshall’s analysis, some of which I share here, gave me a new understanding of why people choose to ignore difficult problems, such as climate change — or congregational conflict.
Why do people ignore difficult problems, even in the face of large amounts of evidence? According to Marshall,
it could be that people ignore problems that do not cause them PAIN – that is, problems that are impersonal rather than Personal, slow moving rather than Abrupt, amoral or outside of a moral framework rather than Immoral or disgusting, and intergenerational rather than affecting them Now. But once a problem starts causing us PAIN, then we have to notice it. This is based on the research of Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert, who uses the acronym PAIN to describe the triggers that are most likely to get our cognitive attention.
It could be that when people see a problem that is multivalent, or difficult to pin down in terms of one understanding, one solution, or one approach, they are reluctant to engage. They may choose to withdraw rather than participate in a solution made up of multiple, linked strategies.
It could be that people who respond with common reactions to life’s problems such as denial, uncertainty, playing down the threat, fatalism, or anger toward the communicator are coping with stress as best they can, but in ways that are maladapted to the situation. Unlike adaptive or skillful responses, maladaptive reactions decrease anxiety in the moment without addressing the root causes of the problem.
Marshall’s analysis helped me see that humanity faces many cognitive and behavioral obstacles in addressing the threat of climate change on the massive scale it requires. Now that I see that, it’s harder to go back to ignoring it.
I believe the challenges of the congregational conflict before us are similar in some ways to the challenges of
addressing climate change. I think this conflict is multivalent and will ask us to develop new approaches and multiple, linked strategies to living into a solution. I observe our congregation responding to these challenges in ways that are skillful, as well as in ways that may tamp down anxiety today but will not serve us in the long term. And I know this is not a time for avoidance or silence, for our church or for the Earth.
This is a time for honesty, integrity, and wisdom. In faith,
— Rev. Rebecca
Adapted from Rev. Bijur’s April 10, 2016, sermon “Don’t Even Think About It.” You can listen to it here [http://archive.uusm.org/ dont-even-think-about-it].
For Such a Time as This: A Sermon on Congregational Conflict
Sunday Sermon delivered on March 20, 2016
BENEDICTION
Traveler, there is no road. We make the road by walking.
— Antonio Machado
A difficult thing happened in the life of our congregation on March 14. That was the day many in our church first read a report prepared by our UUA regional staff. It was a report that described how people in this community feel connected to the church, what they think are the church’s greatest strengths and challenges, and what the church could do in the coming year to move forward.
The difficulty was not receiving a report from your church in your email inbox — and I understand some did not, and still have not, and we will do what we can to make sure you get this information. The difficulty was what the report had to say about our congregation, which was a surprise and a shock to some.
Our UUA staff heard that you are worried about the minister’s role, performance, and match; you are concerned that our congregational system is broken; and you are concerned about the damage and division that this conflict has done within the congregation. Based on what they heard, our UUA staff recommended that the congregation undertake significant and difficult work to acknowledge and repair the damage that has been done, and they recommended I work with the Board of Directors to conclude my ministry here in service of that goal.
Right away I started getting emails and phone calls. No, there is not a UHaul parked outside my driveway. Yes, it’s hurtful to know that our congregation is so divided and polarized, and that I as your minister serve as a lightning rod for so many strong emotions, both positive and negative.
And as I met with you and spoke with you this week I made a promise to myself and to you to work on my own learning and growth in this conflict — on my side of the street as one of you put it — and to the best of my ability to work on it not here, in this pulpit and in worship, but instead to do so in appropriate relationships with my colleagues and other counselors. I also made a promise to myself to recommit to the spiritual practices that ground and center me, that nourish and serve me in difficult times, and to seek out support from my family and friends. I remembered the words of the sage who told us, "When I am not busy I meditate for one hour. And when I am very busy, then I meditate for two hours."
These are difficult times, my spiritual companions. In the wider world every day there are stories of division and factionalization, heartbreaking new outbreaks of the same old racism, xenophobia, violence, and frustration expressed in a new form by the political candidacy of Donald Drumpf. This week I finally looked up what the word “demagogue” means — from its original meaning as speaker for the people, it has become a term only used for speakers who appeal to our worst instincts and most challenging human behaviors.
The demagogue is a leader who destroys the people he says he will serve. I learned this week that Drumpf’s disapproval ratings are “astronomical” with millenials, minorities, and college-educated white women, women like me. I don’t need a report to show up in my inbox to tell me that I am concerned about our country, about the performance, role, and match of our leaders; I am worried that our political system is broken, and I am concerned about the damage and division that has already been done in the name of all that separates us.
I am worried because any leader who asks us, Who’s to blame? is leading in a direction we must not follow. The questions before us as a congregation — and as a country — are not questions of blame or shame, of ourselves or others. They are questions both urgent and timeless, questions like:
Are you hurting? What can we do to stop the hurting?
What will healing require of us? What will it feel like and look like? Who will step forward to do it?
Questions like who is responsible — yes — and what can we learn — yes. Those are helpful questions. Those are skillful questions.
It is time for helpful and skillful and compassionate questions because there is so much at stake for our country. There is so much at stake for our spiritual home, where this morning in this room, in this congregation, we have people age 9 months to 95 years. We have parents and grandparents and great-grandparents and children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We have people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and heterosexual. We have people of color, white people, people in mixed marriages and partnerships, people in interfaith relationships.
We have people who were raised Methodist, Catholic, evangelical Christian, Mormon, Jewish Conservative, Jewish Reform, Presbyterian, UU, secular, atheist and who identify as UU, Hindu, Christian, atheist, agnostic, secular, humanist. We have veterans of the Vietnam War and World War II, we have peace activists, we have veteran peace activists.
We have people who immigrated to this country and people who were born here. We have people who live with disabilities and we have people who are temporarily able-bodied. We have people who speak only English, and we have people who speak many languages.
We have Democrats and Republicans. And I want to say that whenever I say that we have Republicans, I am worried that I will get the knowing look and the snicker. Do you know how unwelcoming that is to bridge-builders, to people who refuse to stay and live divided lives? Please do not laugh. Because they are not “out” does not mean they are not here.
We have people who have spent time in prison, people who are or have spent time being homeless, people who struggle with every aspect of life that is thrown at us, with all that we didn’t choose: betrayal, affairs, addiction, mental illness, cancer, diabetes, chronic pain, job loss, divorce, debt, death and dying. We have the joy of new twins, new life, a new way opening where there was no way. We have that joy, too.
Do you know of another place in your life that could possibly bring all these people together, all these people and all they think and feel and know and learn and grow and dance each week? I do not. And I celebrate it. And I cherish it. And I know the odds are not in our favor for making this experiment in big-tent spiritual pluralism work. The odds are not in our favor for building bridges and not walls. The deck has always been stacked against this kind of diversity.
There is only one reason you join a UU church, writes John Wolf. And that is to support it. Because it will not survive long otherwise. Not long at all.
This week we stand on the edge of one of the most sacred times in the Christian calendar, that of Holy Week. Our Christian cousins are gathering in sanctuaries this morning for the joyful morning of Palm Sunday, although by the end of the week their joy will turn to pain with the betrayal of Jesus by his closest followers and his death on the cross, until that pain turns once more to joy on Easter morning, with the promise of new life told in the story of his resurrection.
In times of adversity and struggle, it is hard to believe that could be where the story is going. To do so might be described as a work of faith, even, a trust in a larger story that is not over yet, a path that is not yet traveled, what the poet [Antonio Machado] called a road we make by walking. A story in which we are transformed and transforming Our Jewish cousins also gather at this time of year to celebrate a festival, Purim, based on a Persian legend that ended up in the Hebrew Bible, which is told in the book of Esther. The book of Esther is one of only two books named for women included in all the books of the Bible, and it is the only book in which the Hebrew God is never named or mentioned. The book of Esther tells the story of a brave queen who saved her people from destruction by speaking the right words at the right time. When the cruel leader Haman sought to destroy her people, Esther’s uncle Mordecai got word to her in the palace. He told her, Esther, for such a time as this you were made queen. For such a time as this you must break your silence and speak a word to the king that will make all the difference.
No pressure, Esther.
And she did. And her people were saved. But you do not have to spend much time in the Hebrew Bible to read about how much destruction accompanied even this salvation, how much was destroyed even as Esther’s people were spared.
Perhaps for such a time as this we gather to speak the words that will make all the difference. For such a time as this we speak the words that break the silence. We speak to acknowledge the pain, and we speak to stop the hurting.
This is the work of a religious community, I think, to call one another back into the promise of living, back into covenant in service of something larger than ourselves and our concerns, the common cause which ommands our loyalty and is worthy of our gifts.
And so I will say again, this conflict is about more than my ministry and whether or not I stay or I go. It is about more than the passion and the energy of the lightning bolts the pulpit will always attract. It is about the kind of church you want to be, the kind of church that is grounded in its mission and common purpose, the kind of church that is worthy of your sacrifice and gifts.
There is only one reason you join a UU church, and that is to support a transformative movement for love and justice, one that asks of us not sainthood or martyrdom, but only — and this is so difficult — a willingness to practice what it means to be human. For such a time as this we ask one another to break silence and speak the words that will make a difference, to put the needs of the Beloved Community above our own needs and wants, and to walk together in compassion, wisdom, and courage, even in in these difficult days.
-- Rev. Rebecca
The audio version of Rev. Rebecca’s sermon is available at http://archive.uusm.org/for-such-a-time-as-this
Speak Up About Our Church’s Finances and Future
Step up to the microphone this month to bring alive our 5th principle, which affirms the use of the democratic process within our congregations. It’s time to use our power and voice to shape the decisions that affect our spiritual home!
This month we will gather on February 14 after the second service for a special Congregational Meeting on our church finances. At this meeting, your Board of Directors and Committee on Money will present a series of congregational resolutions on our finances to ensure the best care for our spiritual home today and for generations to come. I hope you will come and help your leaders conclude this collaborative, multi-year effort with your voice and your vote.
One week later, from February 20 to February 22, we will gather again, this time in small groups of 8 to 10, for Congregational Conversations. Your Committee on Ministry and Board of Directors have invited our UUA District Staff to convene a series of special focus groups to better understand the passions and interests that inspire elders, adults, young adults, and youth in our congregation, and to better hear and begin to heal our disappointments and wounds as well. Come connect with new friends or say hello to familiar faces. You can sign up at church or by email to committeeonministry@ uusm.org for your hour-long conversation in sessions held at the church from 9 am to 12:30 pm and 1:15 to 3:30 pm on Saturday, February 20; 1 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday, February 21; or 5 pm to 7:15 pm on Monday, February 22. Please bring your children, who are invited to spend the session in special activities with our caring childcare staff. For the Conversations to be as helpful as possible, we hope to hear from as many members and friends of our congregation as we can. If you are very active in leadership in our church, we need you. If you are less active or new to our congregation, we need you. Your voice is vital to the success of our Congregational Conversations and will significantly shape our future together.
The Committee on Ministry has set a goal of filling all 200 spots in our focus groups and we’d be glad to add more! If you know that you will not be able to attend any group in the times available, please contact committeeonministry@uusm.org and we will set up a one-on-one conversation with our trained UUA facilitators.
Tell your neighbors, tell your friends: at 18th and Arizona, it’s time to step up to the microphone and participate in the decisions that affect our spiritual home. It’s time to lift every voice — and let our community SING!
Much heart,
Rev. Rebecca
Thank You for This Gift:
Thank you for the gift of this sabbatical season in our shared ministry.
Thank you for this gift of rest
from the intensity of spiritual leadership in our vibrant congregation.
Thank you for this gift of renewal
that has led me more deeply into practices of reading and writing that
nourish me.
Thank you for this gift of presence, the ability to be more present
with my family, especially with my husband
and our six-year-old, three-year-old, and six-month old children in this
season of growth in our lives. T
hank you for this gift of neighborliness,
when I have had more space and time to lift my eyes
from my own narrow path,
and reach out to others.
Thank you, thank you.
I have missed you and your faces filling the pews, and your voices lifted
up in song.
I have missed you especially in these days and weeks
when the news is bad,
the days are short,
and the nights are long.
I am so grateful to you and Rev. Tera and our leaders
for your determination
to shine a light on injustice in our city,
to shine a light
on vulnerability, trust, courage, and vision
in building our shared future,
to shine a light
on music and teaching and arts and worship
on the gifts we share:
joy, peace, hope in the struggle.
It is good to be among you again
With you on the threshold of a new year
as we walk together
on the path of growth and courage.
With a full heart,
Rev. Rebecca
P.S.: I’m looking forward to reconnecting with you. Please catch up with me at minister@uusm.org or at church at (310) 829-5436 x104. Starting this month, I’ll be experimenting with a new work schedule by being in the office Monday through Wednesday, and reserving Thursday to focus on worship. Friday will be my day off. You can also make an appointment to see me by emailing Nurit at admin@uusm.org
From Our Sabbatical Minister:
A rabbi, an Episcopal priest, a United Church of Christ pastor, a Muslim leader, and a UU minister walk into the Federal Courthouse downtown ...
Is that the start of a bad joke? Maybe — but it was also the beginning of my workday on November 12. Months earlier, I signed on as a plaintiff against the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, specifically regarding the re-introduction of a Latin cross on the County Seal. Every one of the faith leaders mentioned above thought that showing one religious symbol on the County Seal privileged that religion above all others, and that adding the cross to the Seal conflates the church and state in a way that is offensive and perhaps dangerous. In a county rich in religious pluralism, showcasing one religious symbol is also exclusionary.
Sometimes Unitarian Universalists trip over the word “faith” for several reasons. One, it connotes complete trust or confidence in a person or thing. Two, faith can be defined as a belief not based on proof. Three, it can refer to a belief system (and many of us think that a “belief” can too easily be turned into a “creed”).
Just because we may not agree with conventional definitions of faith, that doesn’t mean we need to throw this word out altogether. I fell in love with a Unitarian Universalism that takes a concept or idea, and breaks it open, studies it, analyzes it, and constructs it anew so that it is relevant for our people in this time.
The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle defines faith as “the energizing spirit that gives birth to our convictions.” This fall, I’ve talked about the tensions between joy and sorrow, between holding on and letting go, between gratitude and despair; and how we can live from a place of joy and gratitude while still honoring and naming our sorrow and despair. We are able to hold onto our optimism and move forward toward a better world because we believe in our ability to do things differently, to change. That energizing spirit — faith — moves us forward toward the world we dream about.
On November 12, I was proud to be one of the faithfilled religious leaders in that courtroom. (I was also proud that two congregants, Kim Miller and Mike Reivitis, were there to cheer us on!) On that day I practiced my Unitarian Universalist faith by being part of an interfaith collective, voicing dissent about privileging one religious symbol above all others.
I look forward to exploring the theme of Faith with you in December, and may you find multiple ways for that
energizing spirit to move you and your ideas toward a more beautiful, just, and peaceful world.
Yours, for a time,
— Rev. Tera Little
— Rev. Tera Little
From Our Sabbatical Minister: A Radical Gratitude
A few weeks ago I bought a new journal. I love the feeling of possibility that comes from those fresh, clean, blank pages. The cover of the journal says “In everything, give thanks.”
I was drawn to that. I love the idea of living into a deep gratitude. But as I reflected on it, that notion “In everything, give thanks,” seems incredibly naive. Each week the headlines we live with are filled with more harm done to the planet and her people.
• Mass shootings
• Deaths in the Middle East
• The California drought
I picked up that blue and red notebook, with those hopeful words, and wondered, How to give thanks in the midst of this?
We come to this congregation to talk about tough stuff. You may have wandered in because your heart breaks for our planet. Because you long for a place to belong. Because you need to know that how you live your life makes a difference.
Unitarian Universalism isn’t an easy religion. Yes, we offer a wide embrace of liberal theological beliefs. Yes, we offer a wide welcome to all who honor the worth and dignity of every being. But we ask our members to take a radical stance, one that isn’t so easy if you are paying attention. We ask you to look squarely in the face of injustices of this world—and find a way to give thanks.
Re-connecting with a sense of gratitude can help us move forward when times are tough. When it seems like we cannot possibly hear about one more shooting. One more animal going extinct. One more person diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
Part of the work we do together at UU Santa Monica is find ways to connect with gratitude in our lives. To meet the struggles of the day with a sense of hope. To remind each other that though the arc of the universe is long, is does indeed bend toward justice.
May you find multiple ways to express your gratitude for each other, and for UU Santa Monica, in the coming days.
Yours, for a time,
Rev. Tera Little
FROM OUR SABBATICAL MINISTER
“In the Shelter of Our Sukkah”
For a few months, you and I will be building a sukkah of sorts. A physical sukkah is connected with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a harvest festival that begins the evening of September 27 this year. The sukkah is a temporary shelter, covered with bamboo, branches, and palm leaves. It has three walls made of canvas or other material. The fourth wall is left open as a doorway. Jewish practice calls for eating and sleeping in the sukkah, as often as possible, during the seven day festival. This temporary shelter is lovingly decorated with lights, fabrics, and images of the harvest. At the end of the festival, the sukkah is dismantled, some bits stored for next year and others given back to the earth. For fun, you can Google “sukkah” and see many beautiful examples. An image of our family sukkah from last year is included here.
During the three months of Rev. Rebecca’s sabbatical, you and I will build relationships. We will worship, play, ponder, sing, question, lead, analyze, and mourn together. High priorities for me during my time with you are leading worship twice a month, meeting with the Board, Finance Committee, and Committee on Ministry, and offering pastoral care. During these three months, we will prepare our hearts and minds to welcome back Rev. Rebecca, and to embark on the next chapter of your ministry together.
While she is gone, we will create a beautiful, yet temporary, structure. We’ll begin to build up our foundation of trust, we will embellish it with laughter, tears, and good food. And just when we are feeling at ease and comfortable in our makeshift home, it will be time to take it down, piece-by-piece, together. We will say our good-byes but more importantly, we will plan the joyful welcome and continuation of your shared ministry with Rev. Rebecca.
I’m looking forward to being together in the shelter of our sukkah. What a time it will be.
Yours,
— Rev. Tera Little
Growth, Outreach, and Covenant: Key Areas of Ministry for Our Congregation
It’s wonderful to be back at home with you. Thank you again for your support as we spent the last three months welcoming our son Benjamin to the world. It has been a beautiful time of growth for him and our family, as we get used to being a family of five, and as he gets used to smiling, nursing, getting baths, getting his diaper changed, and taking naps. I’m especially grateful to the Rev. Eaton-Guinn, our Summer Minister, and to our Committee on Ministry and Board of Directors, for their care and leadership that enabled so many vital projects in membership, governance, and right relations to go forward during my family leave.
As I return to full-time ministry from August 25 to September 30, it will be our challenge and opportunity to catch up with one another while also preparing to say goodbye again on October 1, when my three-month sabbatical begins. As you know, our congregation has a long history of sending its minsters on sabbatical. Both the Rev. Ernie Pipes and the Rev. Judith Meyer were able to go on sabbatical, and many of our leaders remember fondly both the sabbatical ministers who served during those special times, as well as the stories and experiences Rev. Pipes and Rev. Meyer brought back upon their return.
Unlike family leave, the sabbatical is a time dedicated to your minister’s spiritual renewal, rest, and rejuvenation. Like Rev. Pipes and Rev. Meyer before me, I plan to soak in this special time by pursuing study, reflection, contemplation, and action that is not possible when I am present in full time congregational ministry. Possible sabbatical projects may include close reading of texts in UU and wisdom traditions, an extended writing project, travel in the Pacific Southwest with and without my family, and deepening my connections with some of our community partners such as OPCC and CLUE-Los Angeles. Several years ago I realized that growth, outreach, and covenant are key areas of ministry for our congregation, and I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue these interests. I look forward to returning to the congregation on January 5, 2016, with new perspectives on our life together, as well as a renewed connection to the sources of my own spiritual leadership and courage. Thank you for the gift of this special time, and for your generous investment in your minister’s ongoing education and spiritual development.
While I am on sabbatical, I am delighted that the Rev. Tera Little will serve as our part-time Acting Minister. She will partner with our Board of Directors and the Committee on Ministry to ensure that the important ongoing ministry of the congregation continues uninterrupted, and even deepens with new leadership from your Acting Minister, staff and volunteers. From August 25 to September 30, please write to me at minister@uusm.org or call me at (310) 829-5436 x104. I look forward to connecting and reconnecting with you all. I’ve missed you and our vibrant spiritual home at 18th and Arizona.
With love,
— Rev. Rebecca