View from the Bridge: Rev. Carol McKinley
In the face of the unspeakable grief suffered by families in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, this past Tuesday is this story of loving support that arrived in the traumatized community. It came in the form of wet noses, wagging tails, and listening ears.

During this time between Rev. Jessica’s departure as your called minister, I am honored to be serving KUUF as your bridge minister. I like the term “bridge” because it indicates my time with you has a specific time span anticipated as six months, during which I hope to accompany you as you process the feelings of loss of a beloved minister and be with you as you begin next stage of KUUF’s journey.

Some of you know me, but for those who don’t I’ll briefly introduce myself. I am a native of Washington and have lived in Olympia for 50 years. I have been a secondary and community college teacher, an antiquarian bookseller, executive editor of a magazine, and an indexer (please feel free to ask me what that entails!). I attended seminary at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry, and was ordained in 2006 by my home church, the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I am OUUC’s affiliated community minister, focusing on social, economic, and environmental justice work and interfaith relations. I have served as director of WA State UU Voices for Justice, our statewide legislative advocacy organization, and coordinated OUUC’s Faith in Action Ministry. I continue to serve on the Pacific Western Region’s Healthy Congregations Team. As a regular presence in KUUF’s pulpit for several years, I have very much enjoyed getting to know many of you.

As your bridge minister, I will continue to speak each month. I also will be meeting regularly and supporting the work of your board, worship and pastoral care teams, and the Committee on Shared Ministry. And I hope to support each of you. If you would like to arrange a time to talk, call the KUUF office, 360-377-4724, or email me at minister@kuuf.org. I will hold office hours each Thursday, from 10 am to 2 pm, and hope you will “stop by” to get acquainted and visit. Of course, at this point in time we will adhere to health and safety guidelines, which means we will connect with each other by phone, email, or Zoom. As soon as it is possible to meet in person, we can schedule time together at KUUF.

In faith and love,
Rev. Carol

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

Many of us are feeling anger and outrage as we watch events unfolding in Ukraine following the declaration of war against that country by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Unitarian Universalists join people of faith across the world condemning this act of aggression from Russia, and declaring our support for Ukraine and its people as they defend their sovereignty and their democracy. In doing so, we are rooted in our tradition’s values of justice, equity and compassion in a world community of peace, liberty and justice for all, values we share with many other religious traditions.

Here in our corner of Washington state, let us offer our support to Ukrainians in our local community, calling upon our personal and communal spiritual practices to strengthen our resolve to see a world of peace and equity.

We offer this prayer for Ukraine and its people:

Spirit of Life and Love,
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that they may be protected from harm.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world
that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world. Amen; so may it be.

In peace and love,

Rev. Carol