Dear UUCA Community,

Somehow it is March of 2022 and we are in the final season of our time together. My interim ministry here ends at the end of June and your next minister will begin in August. As the Board, Transitions Team, and I contemplate how to best use our remaining months together, I encourage you to think about what you want from these last months of interim time. This transition period isn’t just about congregational leadership- how can you prepare your heart for the next stage at UUCA? What do you need to do in order to welcome a new minister into your life and your church family? 

We have weathered a difficult transition together. Your minister of ten years, the Rev Tim Timerson, ended his tenure during a world-wide pandemic. It was a time of upheaval and many of you have expressed that because of safety concerns and social distancing you didn’t get to say goodbye to Rev. Tim in a satisfying way There were no hugs because of the virus. There were few opportunities to remember together a funny story or recall a tender moment in your life together. Maybe you didn’t get to say thank you. Your grief didn’t have to chance to be expressed. 

Rev. Tim was a major figure in your lives. He officiated memorials for beloved people. He offered pastoral care and comfort. He preached sermons that made you contemplate the biggest questions in life. He loved you, and still does, although now his relationship with you has to be different. Have you taken the time to feel the ending of that special connection with Rev. Tim? Perhaps you have tears that are waiting to be shed. Interim is a time to release them. Have you expressed your frustration at not getting a sufficient chance to say goodbye? This is a good time to reflect on those feelings, to express them to me or each other, or in a journal. The pandemic cost us so many things- the lives of people we loved, time spent in community, the celebration of milestones. To the list of losses add closure at the end of your time with Rev. Tim. Know that he wanted a better goodbye with you. Know the ten years you spent together were precious and sacred. And that to begin again, with a new minister, you need to grieve the loss of the former minister. Not forget about him, not replace him, but find a way to say goodbye in your heart, so you can be open to new ministry. 

A new chapter will soon begin at UUCA. What do you need to do to be ready? To embrace all that is new with an open and loving heart? How can you cherish your former minister in a way that allows you to embrace your next minister? 

I’m here, if you would find it useful to explore this further. 

Warmly, 
Rev Kate