Alert. Your Senior Minister will be updating her operating system in 2023.
Do not turn off your congregation.
In her seventh year as our Senior Minister, Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom will be taking a five-month sabbatical from February 15 to July 15, 2023. You may recall that Revs. Drew Kennedy and Dena McPhetres each took similar sabbaticals.
Such periods of respite are considered a best practice within UU congregations and are part of our settlement agreements with our ministers. We hope you will join us in welcoming this opportunity for Rev. Jennifer to reflect, relax, recharge her batteries, and explore new ideas for the next phase of our journey together.
Sabbaticals are an exciting time for church members. We’ll have opportunities for enlightenment and challenge from an all-star lineup of pulpit guests recruited from our denomination’s favorite voices.
To no one’s surprise, Jennifer has already recruited some exciting guests, including the head of the UUA’s justice work, Rev. Ashley Horan. Other sabbatical pulpit guests will be announced in the near future.
The Committee on Ministry will be handling communications and will keep you fully informed and up to date. As in the past, there will be a separate Sabbatical Committee to assist our guest ministers.
Rev. Dena, Rev. Kimberlee, and Director of Administration Jean Johnson will assume expanded roles working with the Board, staff, and various committees. Additionally, Jennifer hired an experienced UU minister to serve as our part-time Assistant Sabbatical Minister to help bridge the gap. Rev. Jim Foti, who has ten years of experience serving as an Assistant Minister at a large midwestern UU congregation, will work with our Social Justice Council and lead one worship service per month.
There’s so much more to share with you about Jennifer’s sabbatical and we’ll be doing so on a regular basis. Stay tuned for more details as they develop. And feel free to reach out to members of the Committee on Ministry (COM) with your questions and comments.
COM members: Pete Koneazny, Laura Maker, Kit Vernon and Eric Heilig.
Pete Koneazny
Committee on Ministry