Ceremony of Welcome for DRE Kathleen Hogue
Date of Service:
January 22, 2017
January 22, 2017, 3pm Ceremony of Welcome
May we affirm that love is our greatest purpose.
Accepting one another is the truest form of faithful living.
The search for truth is our constant star.
May we pledge our hearts, minds, and hands:
To challenge injustice with courage; to find hope in times of fear;
and to live our our Unitarian Universalist values every day as beloved community.
- Jay E. Abernathy, Jr.
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*Gathering Hymn #318 We Would Be One
We would be one, as now we join in singing,
Our hymn of love, to pledge ourselves anew
To that high cause, of greater understanding
Of who we are, and what in us is true.
We would be one, in living for each other
To show to all, a new community
We would be one, in building for tomorrow
A nobler world, than we have known today
We would be one, in searching for that meaning
Which binds our hearts, and points us on our way
As one, we pledge ourselves to greater service
With love and justice, strive to make us free.
Welcome (Responsive) #442 We Bid You Welcome
Chalice Lighting Heather Reed
*Opening Hymn #1028 The Fire of Commitment
Reflection A Community of Welcome Nalani & Kim Santiago-Kalmanson
Musical Response #402 From You I Receive
From you I receive, to you I give
Together we share, and from this we live.
Reflection Welcome to Shared Ministry Leon Henderson-MacLennan
Offering Wonfa Nyem Adzenyah
Reflection Welcome to Dream Together Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur
Sung Response #34 Though I May Speak With Bravest Fire
Meditation Welcome to Interdependence Rev. Susan Manker Seale
Silence
Music Kujichagulia Dr. Zanaida Robles
Sermon Religious Education is All We Do Rev. Diane Dowgiert
Ceremony of Welcome
Rev. Rebecca: I invite Jacki Weber, our Congregation Vice President, to come forward at this time. We
appreciate the Board’s leadership of our community and ask that you, on behalf of our Board of Directors,
lead us in welcoming Kathleen to our community and in renewing our congregation’s commitment to the
mission of Religious Exploration in our church.
Board of Directors: Kathleen, we welcome you into our community with joy and love. We commit ourselves
anew to the mission of Religious Exploration in our church. We will support you in your ministry with
children, youth, and adults in service to our Unitarian Universalist faith.
Rev. Rebecca: I invite the members of our Religious Exploration Committees to come forward at this time.
We celebrate your leadership and ask you now to affirm your commitment to the mission of Religious
Exploration at our church.
Members of our Religious Exploration Committees: Kathleen, we honor and welcome you into our
community. We will work with you to create a safe and welcoming environment for all who come here and to
help them to develop a spiritual life, participate in meaningful social action, understand our Unitarian
Universalist principles, and respect the diversity of beliefs within our own congregation and the larger world
community.
Rev. Rebecca: Will you promise to share the work not only with our Director of Lifespan Religious
Exploration, but to call on the members of this congregation to help and support you in carrying this light in
the coming years?
Members of our Religious Exploration Committees: We will.
Rev. Rebecca: Religious Exploration Teachers and Advisors, including those who lead Our Whole Lives
Sexuality Education and Heart to Heart Circles, the time you spend with our children, youth, and adults is
one of the vital ministries of this church. It is a gift to them and to all of us. Thank you for all you do. Today
we ask you to affirm your commitment to the mission of religious exploration at this church with the reciting
of these words.
Religious Exploration Teachers and Advisors: Kathleen, we honor and welcome you into our community.
We value your experience and support and will work with you to inspire children, youth, and adults in our
community to explore, learn and grow as they move along on their religious journey.
Rev. Rebecca: Recognizing the challenges and joys of teaching in our congregation, will you care for our
children, youth, and adults, and will you love them? Will you bring your enthusiasm, talents, and energy to
this task? And, when things get tough, will you communicate lovingly with one another and our Director of
Lifespan Religious Exploration about your boundaries and limitations as you carry this light in the coming
years?
Religious Exploration Teachers and Advisors: We will.
Rev. Rebecca: Children and youth, you are the light of religious exploration at this church. Will you bring
your open mind, your loving heart, and your helping hands to our church each Sunday? Will you work hard
to learn with your friends and the adults who choose to spend their time with you? Will you promise to let
your light shine? If so, please say, We will.
Children and Youth: We will.
Rev. Rebecca: Parents, you are the primary religious educators of your children, and you also trust this
community with their big questions and worthy dreams. And so we ask you to affirm your commitment to
the mission of religious exploration at this church with the reciting of these words.
Parents: Kathleen, we welcome you and recognize your commitment to our children and youth. We will get
to know and support you, the Religious Exploration Committees, and our teachers in this work.
Rev. Rebecca: Parents, will you help your child come to church regularly and participate fully? Will you
register them in our Religious Exploration program? Will you make an effort to show up both on Sunday
mornings and for other events that help us build our beloved community?
Parents: We will.
Rev. Rebecca: It takes our whole community to build the world we dream about and it takes a UU village to
raise a UU child. This is what it means to be a spiritual community. I invite the congregation to rise in body
or in spirit and join in welcoming Kathleen to our community and renewing our commitment to the mission
of Religious Exploration at our church.
Congregation: Kathleen, we welcome you and recognize your commitment to Lifespan Religious
Exploration at our church. We value your insight, experience, and passion for the work that you do.
Rev. Rebecca: Remembering that this is a shared ministry, will you promise to journey with our new
Director of Religious Exploration and with each other in the spirit of mutual love and to recognize and
respect one another’s limitations, humanity and boundaries as you work together in this shared ministry?
Will you nurture one another along your spiritual journeys, bringing the light each time you gather and
work together to build this loving community?
Congregation: We will.
Passing the Light
Rev. Rebecca: Kathleen, will you promise to bear and safeguard this light and work together with this
congregation to help us to dwell together in peace, seek knowledge in freedom, and serve humankind in
fellowship?
Kathleen: I will. I am honored to bring my commitment and passion to serve as your Director of Lifespan
Religious Exploration, and to be entrusted with shaping the religious, spiritual, and ethical growth of your
community. I promise that all I do here I will always come from a place of love and respect and to walk with
all of you in the spirit of mutual love, so vital to our life together at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Santa Monica.
*Closing Hymn #118 This Little Light of Mine Traditional
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine...
Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine...
*Benediction (unison) Today we have welcomed Kathleen Hogue
as our Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration.
We have affirmed and renewed our commitment to the
mission of Religious Exploration at our church.
May we all be bearers of the light of our beloved faith
as we continue our journey together.
*Please stand in body or in spirit
Service Notes
Today 100% of our offering will be split evenly between the RE Fund of UU Santa Monica and the
Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) . The RE Fund is used to supplement and enhance
RE programs at our church, including support for teacher appreciation events, youth trips, and other
unanticipated expenses. LREDA is an anti-racist, anti-oppression, welcoming, professional
organization open to liberal religious educators and those supportive of religious education. LREDA
promotes the religious growth and learning of people of all ages and advocates for and supports
religious educators and the field of liberal religious education.
Rev. Diane Dowgiert serves as interim minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro,
NC. She previously served as minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, AZ for ten years
and at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta, OH for five years. Diane is a graduate of
Starr King School for the Ministry. With a background in social work, Diane has a passion for
responding to the needs of the local community, and for bringing Unitarian Universalist principles
and values to social justice issues. Outside of church, she enjoys hiking and quilting. She has been
married to her husband AJ for 42 years. Their family includes two adult sons, one wonderful
daughter-in-law, one grand dog, and two adorable cats.
Kathleen Hogue is our Director of Lifespan Religious Education. She previously served the UU
Church of Tucson as Director of Lifespan Faith Formation. Kathleen brings a contagious passion for
nurturing people of all ages in their spiritual growth to her role, and has been serving Unitarian
Universalism as a leader in religious education since 2001. Honesty, sharing feelings, and coming
from a place of love are three of her core values as a religious professional, and her past leadership
has focused on ministry with youth and young adults, multiculturalism and acceptance, volunteer
support, and program administration. Prior to joining the RE staff at UU Tucson, Kathleen founded
and ran her own daycare for over twenty years. She grew up in Tennessee and has also lived in
Cleveland, Ohio. Kathleen is particularly thrilled to be here at UU Santa Monica, a congregation
with such a clear vision for social justice and human rights. Kathleen Hogue relocated to Los
Angeles, along with her adult son, two cats, and one dog, in mid-September. Welcome, Kathleen!
Thank you to our DRE Search Committee/Transition Team: Leon Henderson-MacLennan
(Co-Chair), Jo An Peters (Co-Chair), Denise Helton and Sylvia Young (Personnel Committee), Dan
Patterson, Nalani Santiago-Kalmanson, and James Witker . Thank you to our RE Committees.
Thank you to our Director of Music, Dr. Zanaida Robles, and our Adult Choir for the gifts of their
music this afternoon.
Thank you to our ushers: Tom Early, Kit Shaw, Ned Wright, and Michael Young.