This
January, our Committee on Ministry will conduct a church-wide “Review
of the Ministry.” It is a chance for all of us to reflect on the
ministry of the church—both that ministry which is done by your
professional Minister (me), and that which is done by everyone in the
ministry we share together. As the committee and I have talked about
it during our fall meetings, it was intriguing to wrestle with the
idea that every person has a ministry. What is your ministry? How
do you share your gifts with the world? How are you present to
others in encouraging and compassionate ways? And how does the role
of the professional minister intersect with the roles of the ministry
of every member?
I
will be looking at some of those questions in worship on January 5th,
as a kind of conversation starter for the small groups that will be
exploring these and other questions in the two weeks following, led
by the Committee on Ministry. Our hope is to provoke meaningful
sharing and connection among church members, as well as to get
feedback for the work of our church. It is also a chance for me to
get feedback from all of you.
In
our UU faith tradition, the minister is “called” by the
congregation, rather than “hired.” I don't have a boss to report
to—rather, I have a covenantal relationship with the whole
congregation, and work collaboratively with the Board. Some of you
remember when I first came here eight and a half years ago in May,
and we interviewed each other to see if we wanted to pursue ministry
together. But more than half of our members have joined since then,
so might not know how it works. In 2005, there was a week including
worship and meetings of various groups in the church, culminating in
a church-wide vote about whether to ask me to be your minister. By
so doing, we entered this unique relationship. I suppose it is
something like a marriage, because it is important every so often to
check in about how we are doing. So that is one purpose of these
January meetings.
I
hope as many of you as possible will participate, either through your
Spiritual Enrichment Group, or through signing up for the special
meetings to take place in people's homes, or at church. I look
forward to this opportunity to enhance the ministry of our church.
In
the meantime, I wish everyone a wonderful New Year! May this coming
year be full of good things for you and your families, and for our
church community.
Rev.
Myke
