The final words of my final letter to you as Board President is about the upcoming year. WSUU has experienced a long transitional period. Rev. Peg retired just shy of three years ago. Our DRE Betsy Lowry retired a year later. We had an interim minister who stayed with us just one year and who was fortunately followed by the steadfastness of Rev. Alex Holt. Our hardworking and conscientious Ministerial Search Team of 2017 finished their year of work without the satisfaction of a settled minister. Now we learn our beloved chaplain, Rev. Mark Newton will be retiring at the end of June. That’s a lot of change. And it would be easy to sit back – to disengage a bit – to see what happens next. But, what I have learned in the last three years is that we are strong; we are a dynamic congregation who can withstand disruption, loss and change; we are a community who genuinely cares for one another – and isn’t that the real reason we’re members of Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation?
We have one more year before we call a settled minister. And each of us can choose how we spend this next year. Instead of a year of just waiting, consider this a year of gathering momentum and excitement. Because there is a lot to be excited about. This fall, the Ministerial Search Team of 2018-2019 will be surveying the congregation to learn what it is each individual deems important in our new minister. They will be holding Cottage Meetings and the Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop again.
Are you aware that there are 40+ new members who have joined our community since the last round of workshops and meetings? That is a significant percentage of our congregation and they need to voice their opinions. And those of us who have been around a while have perhaps been able to clarify in our own minds what we feel is important in our new settled minister.
Do you need a reminder of who we are as a community? Come to the Members Connect dinner on Thursday, June 14th. (RSVP required.) This will be the first of (hopefully) four dinners in the coming year; the only function of these dinners is to provide an opportunity to engage in community. Because, we are in this together.
In loving community,
Patti McCall, Board President for a little longer.