An Important Letter from Your Board President

Dear Fellow Congregants,
I’m looking forward to working with you on the many exciting things happening at First Church this year. The search for a settled lead minister is certainly one of the key projects we’ll be undertaking together and I’m writing to give you an update of where we stand.

Rev. Kristen has been in discernment about whether or not she would like to be considered for the lead minister position. After much thought, she has decided not to pursue the position of settled lead minister. That said, her ministry at First UU has been deeply fulfilling and she has a strong commitment to our congregation’s future. Rev. Kristen is currently Assistant Minister on a two-year renewable contract basis.

Rev. Kristen is beloved, respected, and valued in our church community. We have the opportunity now to acknowledge how much she and her ministry mean to First UU by calling her Associate Minister. Moving Rev. Kristen from a contracted minister to a called minister would demonstrate our appreciation for her work with us and provide her — and First UU—long-term stability as we work our way through the important decisions that lie ahead.

This work will be guided by the Contract to Call process, a framework provided by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).

To begin this process, our Board has appointed a five-person Call Process Task Force to lead the congregation through the discernment process. This team will also be responsible for guiding us toward a congregational meeting where we will vote on whether to officially call Rev. Kristen as our new Associate Minister.

      The members of this task force are:
      • Christy Anderson
      • Leland Beck
      • Susanna Concha-Garcia
      • Martha Hall
      • Mat Kaplan

An essential part of this process will be a series of small group meetings which will be similar in format to the Our Sustainable Future small group sessions we held last year. After these meetings, the Task Force will prepare a summary report for the board, ministers, and the congregation with a recommendation on whether to bring the call decision to the congregation for a vote.

The work of the Call Process Task Force will begin soon, with the small group meetings taking place in October and November. I anticipate that the congregational meeting will be held in January. The process of calling a settled lead minister will begin in February.

Thank you for the energy and commitment you bring to our church community! Please contact me [email protected] if you have any questions.
​
Karen Lamphere
Board President