Minister’s Letter 6/1/2025
Beloved Friends,
It is hard to believe that this is the last Anvil letter I will write you before I begin my time away. I will be away from church from July 1 – October 15. I am immensely grateful to this congregation for fulfilling our covenant and granting me this time away for study, spiritual reflection, rest, and rejuvenation. I wish that all people had access to this degree of time off from work. Each person deserves a sabbatical. Each person should be entitled to time for sustenance and growth. It would do us well to collectively organize for a transformation of the way our national and global economy works. Greater justice is deserved for all people. I am so very appreciative that Unitarian Universalist ministry provides this expectation and opportunity. We all deserve such a thing.
I am really excited that Rev. Allison Farnum will take on the role of Sabbatical Minister. I have known Rev. Allison for nearly six years and believe deeply in her capacity to minister to Unitarian Universalists in a multitude of contexts. It has been a blessing to watch her flourish as the minister for the UU Prison Ministry of Illinois. It has been a privilege to have opportunities to collaborate with her. We have already benefited from her gifts as a congregation. She has had a connection to our church since her days in seminary school and returned to us as a community minister upon her return to Chicago. Hopefully you have had a chance to see her in our pulpit over the last few years, experience her preaching, and be moved by the way she incorporates music into our worship. Rev. Allison will be working with you from August 1 – October 15. She will serve our church for 20 hours per week. You are used to having a minister here full time, so this will be a different dynamic. I hope that you can be patient with Rev. Allison as she negotiates the many needs of our congregation with the limited time allotted to her.
A minister’s sabbatical also provides an opportunity to the congregation. This is a time for you to consider what you want church life to look like for both the collective and for yourself. What would spiritually ground you? What changes might you imagine for our congregational life? How will you engage in transformative justice work? Which relationships at church do you wish to strengthen? What other questions could you ask yourself and your sibling congregants? I am excited to come back and hear how you answer these and any other questions. We will be sure to have a couple of congregational forums upon my return.
Please know that my time away is in no way because of a lack of love or care that I have for this church. Please know that this time is designed for me to serve you more effectively for the long term. We have had a strong shared ministry. We have gone through global crisis together. We have celebrated and experienced great joy together. We have gone through staff transitions and congregational shifts together. Whatever happens next in our shared ministry, we are blessed by the journey we have already travelled with one another.
I look forward to getting things in order over the next month. Please be patient with me as I wrap things up while simultaneously work to meet the ongoing needs of our church. It is a blessing to serve you, collaborate with you, and learn with you. This is certainly not a farewell; it is a commitment to see you soon.
In faithful solidarity,
