Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Weaving the Web

May 19, 2006
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern

What do ministers do all week? You know we do more than write a sermon and show up to deliver it, but what exactly? So much of it is invisible — the pastoral visits, leadership coaching, and curriculum planning whose effects are felt by all, though the activity is seen by only a few. So to fill in some of the blanks, here is an account of a typical week for me — as much as there can be said to be a typical week in this wonderfully varied vocation.

Tuesday
Tuesdays are always late nights due to the meetings of the three governance councils and Heads Up meetings, so I come in around 10:30 am. I try to begin each week with meditation, to ground myself and return fully to the life of the church, and then with a look at my goals for the week and a to-do list to sketch out the week (thank you, Franklin Covey).

Mail, several phone calls and a few dozen e-mails have accumulated since Sunday morning, so those are the next item on the day’s agenda. I’ll still be chipping away at them tonight and tomorrow.

Darcey and I meet for two hours every Tuesday afternoon; today we run over because we have a worship service coming up in three weeks that we have to plan together. Then I meet with the Worship Associate for the service coming up two weeks from Sunday; I spent an hour this morning looking up hymns that fit the theme and making notes for the sermon. We now have a pleasant hour and a half talking together about her reflection, my thoughts for the sermon, and the other elements of the service.

This week’s governance council meeting is Program, and while I’m eating dinner I look through some of my UUA meditation manuals for opening words. The meeting ends at 9:15 pm, and I stay chatting with one of the council members for a while longer before we both head home.

Wednesday
My write-at-home day. Today, though, is the meeting of our UU clergy cluster, so I work on my sermon for three hours before driving to Redwood City to meet with my colleagues from the Peninsula and South Bay. We have a short, lovely worship together, and it’s a highlight of my month to have a service in which I simply receive. Then we have a long check-in over lunch, sharing with each other our questions and concerns about our ministries. We give each other some advice and a lot of encouragement.

I get another two hours of writing in before dinner, then it’s off to the LOC of PIA meeting (Local Organizing Committee of Peninsula Interfaith Action). I know I won’t finish my sermon today — I never do on first Wednesdays, with these two monthly meetings — but I have a quiet morning tomorrow, so I will finish it then.

Thursday
In the morning the draft order of service is waiting for me to check. The Adult and Family Activities brochure deadline is coming up soon, so I do a lot of thinking and research this morning to sort out what I plan to teach and what schedule will work for each class. A woman calls who is dealing with a difficult family issue — do I have time to talk today or tomorrow? We agree to meet at 5 pm today.

(to be continued …)