Ministry

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 5^th, 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