As we enter my fifth year of ministry with you here at WUUC, I want to share the news that I will be taking a sabbatical during the 2024-25 church year. This is a normal custom among clergy of all types, and specifically for Unitarian Universalist ministers. In our faith tradition (and in accordance with my Letter of Agreement), a called minister receives one month of sabbatical time for every year of ministry served. This means that this year (year five), I will be taking a four-month sabbatical starting on November 25, 2024, and returning to work on March 25, 2025. My first Sunday worship service back in the pulpit will be on April 6, 2025 (to give me some time to reintegrate back into the community before planning and leading worship again).
I imagine you might have some questions about how all of this will work. Luckily, I’m not having to figure it out alone. I have formed (and been working with) a Sabbatical Team to create coverage plans that will ensure everything goes smoothly while I’m away. There is still some planning to do and details to work out, but our plans are beginning to take shape.
To share what we know so far, we have created a brochure (attached) with information about the upcoming sabbatical. If (after reading the brochure) you still have questions, bring them with you to church on Sunday. After the worship service (this Sunday 8/18), there will be a Q&A session with myself and the Sabbatical Team to address your unanswered questions.
I am looking forward to my sabbatical; and also to returning from it refreshed, renewed, and ready to dive back into the vibrant ministry here at WUUC! As much as I’m looking forward to this, I know I will miss you all very much and be eager to see you all again by the time March rolls around. For the next few months, though, let’s focus on getting this new church year off to a good start.
Spring is here! Flowers are blooming, sunshine punctuates the stretches of wet, gray days, and we, too, are finding life anew. Each monthly newsletter has more events, activities, and programs than the one before, which is a sign that our community is offering more opportunities to connect and deepen our bonds. So as life picks up all around us, it seems like a good time to ask: what renews your soul? What brings you energy and new life?
For some of us, we find renewal among the trees, in the mountains, and along the shoreline. I know that many of us look to the beauty of the natural world for our renewal. And some of us need a true spring break, a time to sit, relax, and do nothing except whatever our hearts desire in the moment. We are grateful for the opportunity to stay in the comfort of our own home, or a favorite familiar haunt, like a coffee shop or bakery. And some of us find renewal in engaging and connecting with others. We may connect over shared interests, common values, being in a similar life stage, or united by a common challenge or circumstance. Whatever calls us to find renewal in the presence of others, one place we can do that is in a church community like ours.
It’s entirely possible that you find renewal in more than one of these sources, maybe even all of them! In fact, I think I need some mix of all of these to really feel renewed in all aspects of myself.
So once we’ve identified what renews our souls, then what? Well, do it- Renew yourself!
Ok, maybe you can’t just drop everything and disappear into the mountains, or stay home, or get together with friends whenever you want. But maybe you can make an effort to prioritize something that renews you among all of the other things that demand your time and attention. Build some time into your day for a short venture outside. Take a quick music break and listen to a favorite song. Call a friend just to check in when you have 15 minutes to spare.
So as the sun emerges and the flowers bloom, let this time of year be a reminder to renew our souls, even if it happens through just one small moment at a time.
Rev. Dan will be away on Study Leave from March 21-29. He will be back to work on Thursday, March 30. During his time away, Rev. Dan will not be checking email regularly, and should be contacted by phone only in the event of an emergency.
Every year on February 2, Punxsutawney Phil (a groundhog) comes out of his borrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. (This year, Phil did see his shadow, so we can expect six more weeks of winter.)
This silly tradition of having a celebrity groundhog determine the length of the season is, well, silly. But it has a special place in my heart. As a kid, I would watch the movie Goundhog Day over and over again. I’ve lost track of how many times I have seen it. In the movie, Bill Murray plays a news reporter covering Punxsutawney Phil’s appearance and prediction for winter one year. But when he goes to bed, he wakes up and it’s the same day (Groundhog Day) over and over again. (As a kid, I didn’t realize the irony at the time of repeatedly watching a movie that was about repeating). I found it so fascinating to see the same person live the same day over and over again, but in so many ways. Each time he repeats the day, he makes different choices, different decisions. He may have felt trapped, but I found the implausible situation intriguing.
What would you do differently if you had a do-over? What decisions would you go back and change if you had the option to try again?
We may not get do-overs the way Bill Murray’s character does in the movie, but I think we get the opportunity to reflect on the decisions we’ve made, consider the outcome of our decisions, and choose whether we want to continue doing things the way we have been, or whether we want to change, grow, and try something new.
We can do this as individuals; and we can also do this collectively, as a community. If there are some congregational dynamics that we find difficult, uncomfortable, and frustrating, then let’s try a new way of relating to one another. If trying to get people to agree with our own opinions is leading to people digging their heels in and nobody budging, let’s try getting curious instead. Let’s find out where others are coming from before we are so quick to share what we believe/think/feel. We all want to be heard. We all want to be understood. We all want to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. And if shouting our opinions from the rooftops (or on email lists) isn’t getting us these things, then let’s try a different approach. Let’s seek first to understand, then to be understood.
The most memorable thing (to me, anyway) that Mónica Guzmán said in the Fireside Chat on January 29, was that being curious about others made her a better advocate for her own position. I think we often fear that if we’re not passionately advocating for our opinions (and quickly shutting down contradictory opinions as wrong), then we are not being a good activist/advocate for our values. But what Mónica expressed was just the opposite. Being curious with people first made them more open and receptive to her ideas when she came around to sharing them.
On this Groundhog Day, may this silly tradition point us to a way out of the repeat cycle, and may we find new ways of being together that help us be heard, understood, and feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.
This time of year always seems to sneak up on me. Every fall I know it’s coming, but October and then November seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. And suddenly it’s December.
As the days get shorter and shorter and the nights get longer and longer, we enter a season of many holidays and holy days. This year, the Christian holiday of Advent began on November 27, and goes until Christmas Eve on December 24, followed by Christmas Day on December 25. Hannukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, starts at sundown on December 18 and goes until December 26. Pagans observe the Winter Solstice on December 21, and Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration from December 26 to January 1 that lifts up African customs and culture. We Unitarian Universalists even have our very own holiday in this season: Chalica, a weeklong observance and exploration of our seven principles, starts on December 5 and goes through December 11.
Whatever holidays you celebrate, or holy days you observe, I hope that this season brings you hope, peace, joy, and love. May you and your loved ones be blessed, and may your presence be a blessing to all you meet.
In October, we welcomed two new members to the WUUC staff team. Amy Genova is our new Membership Coordinator, and Skylar Hopkins is our new Director of Religious Education. They will both be around on most Sundays, so please take a moment to say hello and welcome them when you see them!
Here is a little about Amy Genova:
Amy Genova grew up at the foot of the Rockies in Denver, Colorado. She has also lived in Arizona, Texas, Indiana, and Missouri. She and her husband, Thomas Perchlik, relocated to Washington state 6 years ago, just in time for their granddaughter, Willow’s, first birthday. Her husband, Thomas, introduced her to Unitarian Universalism when she was 23, and they later were married in the backyard of the Greeley UU fellowship. They have two children, Emily Perchlik, second lead architect of the Northgate Bridge and mother to a small grove of grandchildren: Willow, Olive and Hazel, and Molly Perchlik, a research scientist at the University of Washington. Amy enjoys poetry, reading, cooking, walking, swimming, movies, games, voting rights, a good protest and social justice.
And here is a message from Skylar Hopkins to the WUUC community:
Hi everyone, I’m Skylar. Most of you have probably known me for a large portion of my life as I have been a member at WUUC since 2003. However, if you don’t, here’s a few things about me. I grew up in Woodinville and I currently live in Snohomish with my family, my partner Zach, and my dog Holly – a pomeranian husky mix. One thing you should know about me is that I love music. I play piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and I sing. It’s likely that you’ve seen me perform a song or two during a service with my family and other members of the church. In the past few years I have found a passion for working with children and returned to school to begin my journey towards a degree in education. Two years ago I combined my love of music and working with children into a job teaching music lessons. I am excited to bring my creativity and experience with kids to this new job. I look forward to getting to know all of your children and helping them on their spiritual journeys.
