Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist

Last we spoke we were stepping into our next ‘phase’, the more active phase, of the search. Well, we are there. We have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know many wonderful Ministers who have expressed an interest in us.  Our materials have been sent to many of these individuals so that they may get to know us on a deeper level and in turn, many of them have made their materials available to us so that we may get to know them. This has been an unexpected privilege. Our denomination is filled with talent, creativity and brilliance! Every day that we spend time reading, listening to and studying the lives and works of these individuals is like a day at church. The Committee has been together every day for the last several days. We have a very full schedule as we hope to narrow the field to four candidates by the end of the month. We are optimistic, enthused and inspired.

Our search has now officially entered a new phase. We have submitted all of our search materials to the UUA Ministerial Search website and have been rewarded with names and materials from interested candidates who have seen our materials and would like consideration. This process feels a bit like a dance. We stood like a wall flower for several months but are now being asked to dance! We have checked and rechecked our outfits to make sure our slips are not showing and that our ties are straight. Our shoes have been waxed and polished and our hair combed and smoothed. Our next step is to look over those potential dance partners and to then suggest a trial twirl on the dance floor. It is all very exciting and challenging. As we move forward we will test our dancing skills, enjoy the music and hope that our shoes remain comfortable.

Ministerial Search: Right now the Ministerial Search Committee is feeling a bit like a teenager waiting by the phone for that very special call! All of our materials are in, we have them uploaded to the UUA Search Site and we are simply waiting for ‘someone out there’ to see us and to respond! Perhaps we were too quick to meet deadlines? Perhaps UUA Search site is slow to upload Ministerial Records? We are waiting. We are ready. Bring it on!! In the meantime, we are reviewing questions for both face to face and phone/conference call interviews. We are discussing church related issues and deciding how we plan to answer pertinent questions posed to us relating to these issues. We are enjoying one another’s company.

Our tasks of editing and rewriting are at an end. Our beautiful booklet, Our Flaming Chalice, is at the printers. The updated and amended Congregational Record is being reviewed and readied for final draft. We are gathering the last bits of materials, staff bios, board bios, church history, sample sermons, etc., for our thumb drive information packets which we are jovially calling our “fire sticks.” Soon, by the time this monthly bulletin is printed and distributed, we will have put the bait in the water. By this, I mean, sent all of our info out into the cyber-pool of ministerial candidates and soon we will see who we attract. The beginnings of this process seemed so introverted and subjective. Now it is beginning to have the feel of the great ‘unknown.’ We have met with the Board, the Finance Committee, and our Interim Minister to finalize details for this search. We have met with each other every week since we began the process. We are excited and eager for the next phase.

The written material describing our congregation and our church is complete! The Congregational Record, which is the basic material available online for candidates to view, has been uploaded and we are now ready to go ‘live’! This is so exciting for us, as it should be for everyone, because the next step is to actually get a glimpse of actual candidates! We continue to meet weekly and our plan for next week is to spend our evening exploring Beyond Categorical Thinking. This exercise will help us push ourselves to think ‘outside the box’ in ways that we might not otherwise - a challenge and an opportunity to prepare us for the next phase of this adventure.