Notes from Rev. Jean...

June marks the end of the regular “church year” for most UUs. June also brings our annual UU Ministry Days and General Assembly. This is one of those Junes when it’s a challenge for me to get away for GA. Yet, each time I attend, I am glad I did.

I am inspired by the words, and excited by the work, of our fellow UUs. I am renewed by connections to those I haven’t seen in a year or more. And at each GA, I am energized by the spirit in our gathering, challenged by new ideas and approaches to our life together in religious community. Here in Portland, I’ve been attending sessions on diversity and growth, on church governance and worship, on “nonviolent communication” (in relationships from the intimate to the global).

This is a summer of big transition for me, of course. I’ll be arriving in Syracuse in August. Before the MMUUS year resumes in September, I’ll be “on call”—available for calls and messages, scheduled meetings, and pastoral contacts. Amidst the chaos of moving, my mind will be on plans and preparations for September and our first year together. We’ve both come through a period of interim ministry; I trust you are as eager as I am now to begin this deeper journey of ministry together. As we grow into our relationship, congregation and the minister you have called, let us give thanks for the exploration that has led us to one another and to our shared ministry for the community of earth.

~ Blessings, Jean