UUCPA members have a big decision to make next week!
Dear UUCPA folks,
Well, here we are! The congregation has gathered in numerous small groups to talk about the future of our religious education (RE) ministry, the Discernment Committee has compiled a report of these conversations, and the Board has unanimously recommended that we call Rev. Cat Boyle, who has been our Minister of Religious Education (MRE) on a contract basis since 2022. The Discernment Committee spoke to me at length before writing their report, but naturally others want to know: what does the parish minister think? And I think that religious education (of all ages) is central to our mission; that our future is bright if we have a great MRE; and that we do already have that MRE. I hope, and recommend with great enthusiasm, that when the congregation meets on June 1 after the Flower Communion service, we will choose to call Rev. Cat, and I want to tell you why.
I’ll start by saying that no minister is or will ever be perfect. Calling a minister we’ve known for three years means we already know her strengths and weaknesses. And in Cat’s case, we also know that she hears criticism without defensiveness and with a growth mindset.
I love, love, love planning worship with Cat. Collaborating with her is easy and enjoyable because she thinks about services creatively and on many levels. You probably know her best from the Stories for All Ages, where she looks for beauty and humor as well as wisdom, selects stories that are interesting to people of all ages, and chooses authors / illustrators / characters with an eye to diversity (and especially looks for those who resemble our congregation’s kids). All of this without input into the service’s theme! She just takes whatever theme I’ve proposed and comes up with a great story to fit. And she is a great model for all of us adults on how to speak with children: she knows them, engages them, and is responsive to them. (The roaring dinosaurs on Easter will be a sweet memory I carry for the rest of my life.) It’s not just the stories, though. Cat integrates full-body worship, encourages us to use different senses, and uses props and costume elements that are fun for everyone. She helped establish our plan of having an intergenerational service in the round once a month. When she gives sermons, they have spiritual depth, tend to the current spiritual needs of the congregation, and turn our attention to the big picture of the cultural challenges of this place and time.
We saw the results last Sunday of her gifts with young people, and maybe if you were there before the Coming of Age service began, you overheard Cat coaching, encouraging, and teaching the teens who were about to lead it. I visited the Coming of Age class two weeks before then, and from observing her skillful work there, I learned a few things about how to help new or nervous speakers shape their presentations–and I’ve been working with Worship Associates for over 20 years!
Something most adults probably don’t know about Cat, but that I experience repeatedly, is what a warm, skilled pastoral presence she brings. It’s evident in group settings: how when a pastoral issue arises, she is instantly attentive, grounded and grounding, expressing sympathy, inviting people’s sharing and making space for their feelings.
Cat has also been very energetic in creating opportunities for community and connection. She started Game Nights and Parents’ Nights Out shortly after arriving here. When I brought up a pattern I noticed where longtime members drifted away when their children outgrew RE, Cat was so enthusiastic about meeting their needs that she took charge of creating and promoting what is currently called our Empty Nest group, and she has led it monthly ever since. She’s been a cheerleader for the Spiritual Parenting group, and established a regular Family Chapel so the children would have their own service tailored particularly to their developmental needs.
Another innovation of Cat’s is Service Saturdays, one of the many ways she is attuned to social and environmental justice. I love how she teamed up with our UU the Vote activists to focus last spring’s Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE) curriculum on democracy. It was such a timely, passionately justice-centered way to bring the generations together. Bringing youth to SF Pride last June; bringing a climate program to the adults last fall; responding to the devastating election by co-creating a service for the next day; boosting others’ social change and green initiatives—she is the justice-focused minister a congregation like ours needs.
She has created excellent retreats for both the CYRE and Adult Learning Journey (ALJ) committees, leading them through deep reconsideration of their missions and how to carry them out. She’s a shrewd observer of the politics of congregational life, and both strategic and diplomatic in helping groups and personalities work well together. Leaders say they know she has their backs. She has recruited a wide range of people to be teachers, activity leaders, and mentors for children and youth–she sees the gifts in people and helps them do a good job.
But what I’ve loved most about having Cat as a partner and a leader at UUCPA is her tremendous enthusiasm. She brings such loving, warm energy. I’ll miss it when I go—and I hope the congregation votes to keep it burning here among us for the long term.
As head of staff, I’m Cat’s supervisor, and in that role and as co-minister, I meet with her weekly. If you have any questions for me before you vote on June 1, please drop me a line.
Blessings,
Amy