Embarking on the Journey - Meeting Our New Developmental Minister
Theme:
Expectation
Sunday, September 8, 2019 - 10:00am
Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae
Worship Associate:
Kikanza Nuri-Robins
We are beginning to take our first steps together on a spiritual journey. Developmental ministry invites us into a period of adventure, challenge, contemplation, and discovery. It will require all of us to stretch our imaginations, open our hearts even wider, and do the deep work of creating beloved community together. This Sunday, I hope to share some of my story and my hopes for the exciting path we have embarked upon.
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Earlier, the Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae wrote to us:
"I am so excited to begin developmental ministry with you. The compelling ministry before us will touch upon the very heart of congregational life. We will explore mission, vision, and the covenants that bind us to each other and to the larger world. We will learn to deepen our relationships, explore matters of the heart and emotional intelligence, practice good communication and setting appropriate boundaries in congregational life, and create spaciousness for an affirmation and celebration of the diversity inherent to our pluralistic spiritual life. We will also work to examine systems and structures of the congregation and continue the important work towards increased financial vitality and sustainability. We will be in deep conversation around these goals and others in the coming months. This is truly a time for a holistic reflection on the essence of beloved community and what is required of each of us to be transformed by liberal religious community.
My most recent ministries have been serving congregations in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaching multireligious philosophy and theology at Starr King School for the Ministry – our Unitarian Universalist seminary at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. At Starr King, I also served for many years recruiting and preparing our next generation of Unitarian Universalist ministers and progressive religious leaders. In addition to being a UU minister, I am a practicing Sufi in the lineage of Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé and Moinuddin Chishti. In the larger community, I’ve been especially invested in the Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, Climate Justice, Disability, Refugee and Aslyee, Transgender/Queer and Feminist Liberation movements. Before entering the ministry, I was a social justice activist, educator, nonprofit professional, and community leader.
We will have a lot of time to learn more from each other and I look forward to ministering with each of you!
With love and gratitude,
Jeremiah"