Notes from the Board, February 2022
As we move into our third year of living with COVID, and as we move forward from our precious time with Reverend Jessica, your Board has been very busy. We want to share with you the work we have been doing.
Many of you know that Reverend Carol McKinley, who has served us for years as a visiting minister, has agreed to take a quarter-time position with us for six months, February through July 2022. She will be speaking in the pulpit once a month, and taking on Pastoral Care duties together with our Pastoral Care team. Watch for her communications in upcoming issues of the Candle.
We are grateful that in this transitional time we have a minister whom we love and trust.
Looking beyond these next six months, the Board (advised by our Committee for Shared Ministry) is weighing our options:
· Do we want to begin a search process through the UUA? This would take 1-2 years and result in our calling a new settled minister
· Do we want to engage an interim minister for 1-2 years to help us discern what we need before looking for a new settled minister?
· Do we engage a part-time contract minister (1/2 or ¾ time) who could, if we are all excited with her/him/them, eventually be called into settled ministry or be replaced with another contract minister? This is the route we traveled with Reverend Jessica.
Each of these choices is complicated, and like any decision has positive and negative consequences. We will soon be launching listening sessions guided by open-ended questions to assess how our beloved community is feeling and how we best move forward. The questions might look like these:
· What has worked well for you in Reverend Jessica’s ministry?
· How has our congregation changed through that ministry?
· As we move toward re-opening, what do you think will strengthen our ties to each other?
Again, watch in the Candle for information on these listening sessions, and please attend and add your voice.
We are thankful for the response to our recent Volunteer Survey, and for all of you who added your names to help us do the work of this Fellowship. We have an incredible staff and a core of very dedicated volunteers to lead and serve on committees, and now we have some new names to add to that core. If you were not able to respond to the survey but want to add your talents, please contact Tanesha Smith at admin@kuuf.org.
One thing that Reverend Jessica left us with, which we all need to remember, is that this beloved community is very strong. We will go forward, and we will do it together. We were so fortunate for the loving guidance she shared with us, and we will move forward in strength and love.