Three and a half years ago our congregation, realizing we were “stuck” and in need of new leadership, applied for developmental ministry status with the Unitarian Universalist Association. We knew if we were to survive, we needed to find a new way forward and to create new possibilities for our congregation.

Reverend Dr Frances Sink joined as our developmental minister and the work of creating and redefining began.

It wasn’t easy work. It was necessary work.

In the first year, the governance team made difficult decisions and significant changes. As a congregation we looked deeply at ourselves to discover what was missing. This meant letting go of old ways and old identities that were limiting what was possible.

I wasn’t here that first year and imagine it was a challenging time. Some people left, many more came and we got stronger.

As a liberal religion without dogma or doctrine, our faith is guided by seven principles which include the inherent worth and dignity of every person, compassion, justice, acceptance, freedom to search for your truth, a world of peace, liberty and justice, a profound respect for the interdependent web of existence and the right of the democratic process.

On Sunday, our congregation voted to “call” Reverend Frances, as our “settled” minister.

What does it mean to “call” a minister?

The word “call” is very specific; no other term captures our historic tradition of congregational polity.

Only the full membership of a UU congregation has the authority to call a minister. No other authority – not our congregation’s board of trustees, not a bishop (if we had one), not another ecclesial body or a faction of the congregation – can overrule the congregation’s process to create and dissolve its relationship with its minister.

As we move from developmental ministry to settled ministry, I imagine things will look as they have the past three and a half years. Yet things will be different. There is now a declared commitment between congregation and minister to continue the journey we started three years ago, there is no end date just the future and what’s possible.

On behalf of the Congregation, we welcome Reverend Dr Frances Sink as our settled minister.