Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Weaving the Web

August 22, 2010
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern

Sabbatical comes from the Hebrew word for seven, a practice with an interval of seven days (in the case of the sabbath) or seven years (in the case of fallow fields, college professors, and tired ministers). Here at UUCPA, the rule is actually to take one’s sabbatical after 4, 5, or 6 years, but given our changes in ministry over the past few years, the Board and I agreed that I would take mine in my seventh.

Now begins my eighth year as your minister, and as people ask me how my sabbatical went, I answer, “If the measure of a sabbatical is whether it leaves you raring to get back to work, this one was a great success.” I loved Mexico, I loved San Miguel de Allende, I loved having more time to be with my family, I loved learning more Spanish, and I relished every moment of making art — and I’ve been itching to get back to my church work, to my life’s calling. To all of you.

I’m sitting in my office as I write this, enjoying the sounds of the Wellspring students playing and the light of our courtyard. Sean and Kathy kept my plants going, and a “we miss you” valentine from Jessalyn hangs on the wall. I have only been back for a few days as of this writing. I’m just beginning to have conversations with our leaders about how the past six months have been for UUCPA, and what plans they’ve begun formulating for the coming year. I’d like to hear from you too. All of it fuels that same feeling: I’m eager for the next seven years.

— Blessings,
Amy