Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Weaving the Web

September 13, 2009
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern

Summer is a looser time at UUCPA, and this summer I grabbed the opportunity to have a “summer setup” of the Main Hall. Lots of different people come to our pulpit in summer, people expect the unexpected, there are fewer logistics to work out for various reasons, and all in all it’s a good time to give something new a try. Well, it turned out to have such great benefits that we’re going to make it our regular Sunday arrangement, with the congregation facing west.

The new Main Hall creates more warmth, connecting the people to one another as everyone can see others’ faces instead of just their backs. This makes our space as welcoming as we seek to make our community. This setup is more egalitarian, fitting our conviction that the minister is a leader among equals, not a ruler from on high (Dan, who is used to preaching from a New England high pulpit, is enthusiastic about the change). It’s better for the members of the choir, who dislike being the centerpiece each Sunday morning. In short, it embodies our vision.

The wry joke among organizational-change gurus is “No one likes change except a wet baby.” In my experience, not even a wet baby likes it much. As illogical as it might be to resist such a welcome change, the fact is that we’d often rather stick with what we know than endure the discomforts change brings.

And yet we’re a congregation that relishes change. I’ve seen how we welcome new ministers and new staff members. We’ve met changes in the music director and the advent of a children’s choir with enthusiasm. People are excited about our plans to have the children attend the beginning of every Sunday service, and about the upcoming consultation with Alice Mann (see Kathy’s Korner). We meet changes with a sense of adventure and hope. So I haven’t been surprised to have this change met the same way.

Some more tweaks remain to be done to make it work just the way we envision it. We’ll want to aim a light on the new pulpit location and aim the sound speakers differently. We may need more usher/greeters, and/or have them greet people at the sliding doors from the patio. We’re building a new ramp so that everyone has access to both the speakers’ platform and the choir risers. We’ll want to let the bamboo grow a little higher and perhaps lower the blinds on that western wall in the meantime. Let me know your needs so we can make this change work as well for everyone as possible.

— Blessings,
Amy