Dear UTUUC
My time as your interim minister is rapidly coming to an end. My last day will be Sunday, June 11. I hope you can join us that day for a special goodbye service which will undoubtedly contain laughter and tears. It will be a chance for us to acknowledge and celebrate the ministry we have done together during this interim period.
And what a lot we have to celebrate! We’ve come a long way in the nearly two years that I have been with you. I am working on my interim ministry wrap-up, which will be included in the annual report that comes in July. It highlights much of what we have done together during this time. Working on it, I find I am in awe. You have come a long way, and I have learned so much. We have done good ministry together. We have had ups and downs, challenges and celebrations, and experienced all sorts of growth that comes from allowing ourselves to step into discomfort. Sometimes we’ve done it gracefully, sometimes not so much. And we weathered it. Together. I am proud of us!
As many of you learned when Rev. Taylor left two years ago, there are expectations of all Unitarian Universalist ministers that we remove ourselves in order to make space for the new minister and a new ministry. This is done to protect the well-being of the congregation and the overall well-being of Unitarian Universalist ministry. Part of your sacred work is to let me go, so you can fully prepare to welcome your incoming developmental minister and engage with the next stage of UTUUC’s journey.
What does this mean in practice? In sum, it means that we will not have contact with each other after June 11. If we see each other at the store or at UU events, we can greet one another but it would be inappropriate to talk about UTUUC as I will no longer be your minister. This means we have just over 3 weeks to make sure we tie up any loose ends and have any conversations that need to occur for us each to move on to what is next for us. If you would like to have such a conversation, please reach out to me soon!
UTUUC is blessed to have wonderful staff able to handle your questions and who serve the congregation with love and dedication. After June 11, for staffing, finance and administration questions, please contact Brian Franklin at bfranklin@unitytemple.org and for any pastoral care and worship-related questions, please contact the Rev. Emily Gage at egage@unitytemple.org. And speaking of worship, Rev. Emily has shared the calendar for this summer’s worship at UTUUC and you will find it chock full of UTUUC speakers! It is, indeed, an exciting time for UTUUC.
And then, in August, you will have the chance to welcome your new minister, the Rev. Roger Bertschausen. Together, you will begin work on the Developmental Ministry Goals that the Board identified! Rev. Roger will serve you well. Meanwhile, I will begin my new ministry – as interim minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis. We human beings are capable of holding conflicting emotions – I am both very excited for what is next and at the same time there is much I am sad to leave. I will take all of what I have learned and experienced at UTUUC and bring it with me to UUI and to all my future ministries. In this way, you will always be with me. Just as I will always be with you.
I wrap up my time with you being deeply grateful for our time together. Thank you for allowing me to minister to UTUUC.