October 23, 2011

Dear Friends:

I am been deeply touched by the outpouring of care and support so many of you offered to me on the death of my father (on September 27th). From a delicious meal to countless cards and notes, I am so appreciative. Our UUCR church family and Governing Board sent beautiful flower arrangements to the house and wake. Our staff has been especially caring, sending a huge fruit basket, and stepping in to help keep things running while I was home in Pittsburgh with my family.

I want to especially thank Rosemary (our administrator) who covered for me and helped me keep attending to the essentials; Intern Minister Meg Soens, who stepped in and covered for my class on Unitarian Universalist History and Meaning Making and helped in so many other ways; Anne Principe who with her typical grace understood when emails and meetings were delayed; and Amy Burton, who kept the warmth and welcome on Sunday morning strong.

We have a staff team that is collaborative, committed to working together for a common vision and in support of the mission of the church, and truly cares about each other. I so wish you could witness our Core Staff Meetings, where, on Monday, we begin with spiritual practice and deep spiritual conversations, and then connect that to our roles in supporting the mission of our church. I am blessed to work alongside such wonderful, supportive, and collaborative people. It is refreshing and invigorating to have a staff team that is so connected to each other and committed to the work of our church.

Speaking of caring, committed and hard-working folk, I’d like to give a shout out of appreciation to everyone who is working so hard to coordinate our annual holiday extravaganza-Kris-Kringle Fair. Special hugs to this year’s co-chairs: Jasmine Hatzopoulos, Susanne Sullivan, and Sharyn Taitz. I’ll be working in the kitchen making sandwiches, and I hope each one of us finds a way to share a few hours of support for this fun and festive event. Contact the Fair Chairs for more information.

See you on the path (and at church!),

Tim

PS: On Oct. 30, we launch our two-year Community Engagement Project themed around food. I hope you’ll be at church that Sunday. I promise a tasty treat!

PPS: In twelve years of ministry, I have never had the response to a sermon that I received for the sermon entitled “Can You Forgive Yourself.” It will soon be posted on our website. I hope you’ll take a look or listen to the podcast. It really seemed to touch a nerve in a great number of people.