Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Weaving the Web

December 16, 2005
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern

One of the best things about having two ministers is that when one minister is on vacation or engaging in study time, the congregation still has a minister available. In my previous congregation, the only ministerial support the church had during my absence was emergency pastoral coverage provided by my colleagues in other towns. In blessed contrast, when Darcey or I is away, the other is here for pastoral needs, and to guide committees, meet with leaders, lead the Main Hall and Family Chapel services, teach New UU classes … all the things we do. The hours of professional ministry go down by half during those times, of course, but someone is here for you.

How did we get to this arrangement? Unitarian Universalist ministers receive four weeks of vacation, and spend four weeks in study, each year. Like most UU churches, UUCPA has had a long habit of the ministers taking almost all their time away in summer, and although people have raised the question of changing that, for several years, at least one of the two ministers was in transition: either just arriving, just departing, or serving as an interim. It was a difficult time to rework the church’s systems to make it possible for a minister to take several weeks away from the congregation during the winter and spring instead of the summer. As soon as I arrived, however, the Committee on Ministry began to ask what would be involved in such a shift. For example, the Pulpit Committee, which had previously been responsible for coordinating summer services, would need to find guest and lay speakers at widely-spaced intervals year round, enabling me to shift my preaching schedule to include summer services.

We decided to make the change beginning this September, and now the first two weeks of my reading/study period are coming up, January 7–20. The Pulpit Committee has enthusiastically taken on its challenge, and we’ve already enjoyed the results of their work with the services led by Ruth Robertson, Bob McLean, John Indergand, and coming up in a couple of weeks, John Beverley Butcher. In January, while I am studying UU history and identity (in keeping with our Chalice Year focus and my upcoming sermons and classes), should the groups and committees I work with urgently need the guidance of a minister, they can call on Darcey.

In turn, come Darcey’s reading/study time in March, I will be here to back up the groups with whom she usually works. And come summer, we will reap the harvest of what we sow now: even when one of us is away, there will be a steady ministerial presence.

— Blessings,
Amy