by Reverend Dan Lillie | Aug 30, 2018 | Minister Blog
September is a liminal time of the year when seasons shift and the patterns of our lives change. Similarly, Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church is in a transitional time as a congregation. Liminal, transitional and interim times – times when one thing is shifting into another – are often confusing but they bring many gifts as we reflect on who we have been, what our gifts are, and begin to create a new vision of what we might want to become.
As the days get shorter I’ve been reflecting on what our September theme of Vision might mean for WUUC now. As a I’ve been meeting members and friends of the congregation over the past month I’ve been hearing many visions – visions of what WUUC could be in the future and visions of what people see in WUUC now.
One thing I’ve heard is that many people have more than one vision of WUUC and that those visions build on things that people see at WUUC now. There are compelling reasons that all of us are here, and there are visions we have for where we hope WUUC might be going. I’ve also heard a desire and need to strengthen the covenantal connections in the congregation as we move into the work of reflecting on who WUUC is, your heritage and where you’re heading.
And so, during the month of September I invite you to join me and the rest of the congregation as we create a community art project about Vision!
Every Sunday after the 10 a.m. worship service there will be tables in the back of the sanctuary or out in the lobby for you to draw a picture of your vision of WUUC. On Sept. 2 and 9, when we’re enjoying full community worship, tables will be set up in the sanctuary throughout the service so that children and others can work on pictures during the service. Here’s how to participate:
- Grab a piece of paper and some crayons or markers.
- Reflect on one or more of these questions:
o When do you feel most alive, most joyful, most spiritually connected at WUUC?
o What is your vision for the coming year or two at WUUC?
o What do you hope the legacy of WUUC is in 50 years?
o Are there moments at WUUC now where you experience your vision for WUUC? What are those moments?
- Draw a picture or doodle of your vision. You can make more than one picture over the month of September.
- Hang your picture up in the lobby with the blue tape provided or we’ll hang your picture for you.
- Look at everyone else’s pictures of their vision! Ask people about their vision and tell them what you drew and why!
As you think about your vision and others’ visions of and for WUUC, I invite you to remember that no vision is perfect and that the congregation’s vision is made up of many visions. What are you curious about when you see other people’s visions?
As we begin a new church year, may we enter this liminal time with curiosity, joy and holding space for each other.
Blessings,
Rev. Diana
by Reverend Dan Lillie | Aug 29, 2018 | Minister Blog
Greetings! In August I joined WUUC as your interim minister. I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to meet many congregants, including meeting one-to-one with many congregants and lay leaders. As we go forward in the coming several months I’m looking forward to continuing to meet many more of you, building relationships, and working with you to strengthen the trust, relationships and communication that help make the covenantal community that is WUUC.
During the two years I’ll be with you, I’ll be ministering to and with your congregation and doing specific transitions ministry work with you. Each month I’ll be writing an “In the Interim” article to update the congregation on what’s happening with the transitions process. Here are a few things I’d like everyone to know as we begin our time together:
Communication and Feedback
It’s important to me to keep healthy, direct communication open generally – and especially in times of transition or change. If you have questions about what the transitional time is, please ask me or a member of WUUC’s Transition Team: Alaine Davis, Chick Sweeney, Chuck Bean, Cora Goss-Grubbs, Leslie Morton or Robin Heffelman.
Please contact me directly if you have concerns, feedback or more detailed questions about things that are happening at WUUC during the interim, or if you’d like to have a more in-depth conversation with me about WUUC.
In the interest of direct and open communication, I do not accept anonymous feedback. This means I don’t read unsigned letters or notes, nor will I listen to feedback that doesn’t come from an identified source. If you have questions about this, please get in touch with me.
Children and Youth
Some of you have noticed a small chair in my office. That’s because I love having children and youth come in to talk with me or for pastoral care. In the interest of keeping a safer congregation, I do ask that children tell their adult that they’re coming to see me. I will observe confidentiality except in cases where there is risk to the child or others. Please let the children and youth in your life know this. I’ll also be talking with our children and youth about this when I visit religious education classes and youth groups during September.
How to Contact Me
If you’d like to schedule a time to meet me or you want to share some thoughts or questions with me, please email me at revdiana@wuuc.org. You can also call me at the WUUC office (425) 788-6044 ext. 2. If you leave a voicemail I’ll be able to pick it up. For urgent matters you can also call me on my cell phone at (360) 705-2243.
I’m generally in the WUUC office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Thursdays I come in as needed or work from home. Fridays are my sermon writing days so I try not to make appointments then. Some Saturdays you’ll find me at a retreat or meeting, or attending an event in the community, but I try to take Saturdays off. Sundays you’ll almost always find me at WUUC.
Mondays are my Sabbath day. Keeping a Sabbath day is important to me as part of nurturing a healthy spiritual life, so I don’t make appointments on Mondays and I don’t read emails. If there’s an emergency on a Monday, you can call me on my cell phone with the understanding that depending on where I am I may not get the message until the evening.
If you have a pastoral need, please either contact me or the lay pastoral associates. You can find more information here: http://gtest.wuuc.org/pastoral-care/ or contact Jean or Chuck Fowler at fernhaven@comcast.net.
Nametags help me! Please keep wearing them and telling me your name. Also, please consider sending your photo to office@wuuc.org for the WUUC Directory.
Blessings,
Rev. Diana
by Reverend Dan Lillie | Jul 26, 2018 | Minister Blog
I’m so happy to finally be with you as your interim minister.
This summer I moved back to WA from Boston, MA. I actually left from Maine, where I attended a close friend’s ordination, so I really did drive from one edge of the country to the other. On the way out here I attended Ministry Days and General Assembly in St. Louis, visited family in Iowa, and camped with my mother, my sisters, and their children in Iowa, Grand Teton National Park, and Craters of the Moon.
The transitions the past few years have come one after another. It’s been important to take the transition time I needed and to accept and be present with all the feelings and lack of clarity that come with transition. I’ve needed to remind myself that it’s by embracing not-knowing and continuing my spiritual practices that I’d come to the still place in my spirit, which I did. It’s also been important to me that I’ve been with people I love throughout this process. Since arriving in the area I’ve gotten settled into my new home, reconnected with friends out here, and adopted a new doggy companion. There’s a lot of joy in all the beginnings, and with that also come memories and loss that’s sometimes associated with them.
Perhaps you’ve been experiencing some of the same mix of feelings as you think about the coming two years at WUUC and me joining you this month. This past year has brought many changes, which have affected each of you in their own way. I’m thankful to Interim Search Team and the new Transition Team for sharing your journey with me.
The Transition Team and Lori have helped set up dozens of meetings with church committee chairs, board members, and other leaders during the month of August. This will help me get to know WUUC as quickly as possible. While my schedule will be packed, I’m happy to meet with others, too. You can email me at RevDiana@wuuc.org or by calling the church office, 425-788-6044.
I’ll be at the Sunday worship service on Aug. 5 and then preaching on Aug. 12 and 19. I’ll be sharing more about myself and interim ministry then and over the next few months, but if you want to read a bit about me and what I’ll be working on with you, here’s my June newsletter article.
Regarding my schedule, I’ll be available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I’m working out what my hours will be for appointments on those days. Fridays will be my sermon-writing and worship prep day (usually with no appointments), and Mondays will be my Sabbath day (no appointments or phone contact). And on Sundays I’ll see you in church!
In Faith,
Rev. Diana
by WUUC | May 29, 2018 | Minister Blog
Dear WUUC community,
June 24 will be my last day as minister of the Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church. Starting Aug. 15, I will serve as the Developmental Minister at the Eugene UU Church in Oregon. For me my ministry has come full circle as I began my ministry there in 1981 in campus ministry. I hope to end my ministry there after 4 years.
There are protocols that need to be adhered to when a minister leaves the congregation they are serving. These protocols have to do with making room for the new minister(s) to do their work without interference or comments from the ministerial peanut gallery. Most importantly what you need to know is that as of June 24 I am no longer your minister and cannot function in that capacity. I will need to delete all of you who are in the WUUC community from my Facebook account. I am not to have contact with any of you via phone or social media or in person for at least two years. This is all part of collegial ethics that UU clergy covenant to uphold. It may seem harsh but I have come to understand the wisdom of this protocol.
And yes, there are always exceptions. As in former clergy performing a ministerial role (such as a memorial) for a former congregant but they are rare and would need to be negotiated through the interim or called minister of WUUC. These guidelines allow for clean endings and beginnings in ministry and allow congregations to grow with their current minister.
So, my gratitude for the 8 years we have had together. It was its own era that needs to be contained and appreciated for what it has meant to me as your minister and WUUC as a congregation.
Peace, Shalom,Salaam,
Rev. Lo
by WUUC | May 25, 2018 | Minister Blog
How one ends a journey is almost more important than how one begins it. I learned this when traveling with youth. We would spend sometimes up to 9 months preparing for a 3-week trip. At the end of the trip, the youth would scatter at the parking lot or airport with their parents just as soon as they located their luggage. I soon learned to lay down the law: no one leaves before we all reconvene as a group either in the parking lot or airport to huddle up and “end” the trip and say an intentional good-bye to one another. Then they were free to head off.
In any relationship, we make mistakes or cause hurt or have disagreements or conflict. We are human after all. But when we begin well, we have time and the trust to right the “wrongs” as the relationship unfolds. It seems though, as if all of the good stuff can be erased by a “bad” good-bye. Clergy are told that after they resign from a congregation what they need to make sure of is that they have a “good good-bye.”
What is a “good good-bye?” In the palliative care and hospice field, it involves saying these four things:
- Please forgive me
- I forgive you
- Thank you
- I love you
If you have been in leadership at WUUC these past 8 years, you know that I have had to apologize or say I am sorry at the very least. And sometimes, even, “Please forgive me.” As I take my leave of you, I ask your forgiveness for all the ways in which I fell short or missed the mark or unintentionally caused hurt. In turn, I not only forgive but let go of anything that I have held onto in hurt or anger.
May we thank one another? Thank you for the chance you took on me. Thank you for all the ways we grew together. For all the ways we celebrated, worshipped, laughed, worked together, struggled together, and were faithful to UUism and WUUC together. I am so grateful for all that I have learned from you over these 8 years. Thank you for trusting me with your hearts and stories and very lives.
Somewhere in this past year I thought that I did not love you. But after a great deal of reflection I realized that that was not true. I had lost my way a bit, my vision had been clouded which was obscuring the memory and reality of my love for you as a congregation. Yes, I love you. In spite of who you are and because of who you are. I hope you can say that of me as well: that you love me in spite of who I am and because of who I am. That is the grace we can offer one another.
We have had a good run together. No one can take that away from us.
I leave you with these words from Mary Oliver:
“To be able to live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
To love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
And, when the time comes to let
it go,
to let it go.”
Namaste: The Divine within me greets the Divine within you.
Rev. Lo
by WUUC | May 24, 2018 | Minister Blog
“Look, the world
is always ending
somewhere…
[and] there is nothing
a blessing
is better suited for
than an ending…
This blessing
will not fix you,
will not mend you…
it will not talk to you
about one door opening
when another one closes.
It will simply
sit itself beside you
among the shards
and gently turn your face
toward the direction
from which the light
will come,
gathering itself
about you
as the world begins
again.”
– Excerpted from “When the World is Ending” by Jan Richardson
I find these words about blessing by Jan Richardson to be exquisite. A blessing is something that is often sought and conferred by another. But what Richardson offers is something far more accessible and real: a blessing “will not fix or mend you.” It is something that we come to realize accompanies us, sits with us amongst the shards of ruin in our lives. Blessing is that which ever so gently “turns our face toward the direction from which the light will come…”
Notice that Richardson doesn’t say that it turns our faces to the light. Blessing turns our face in a direction away from ruin toward the place where light will break in toward us. Blessing allows light to wrap itself around us where we are and leads us toward a world and a life able to begin again.
May we all receive this blessing…
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Rev.Lo
