Year: 2018 (Page 2 of 10)

Dear Members of the Foothills Community,

It is with great sadness that we share that Rev. Dr. Marc Salkin, Foothills former Senior Minister, passed away this weekend from complications connected to his recent cancer diagnosis. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Vicki, and their children Becky and David.

Rev. Salkin was called to serve Foothills in 1991 having previously served congregations in Watertown, Massachusetts; San Diego, California; and in Mexico City.

Marc served our church for twenty three years, with grace and compassion, an incisive humor, and a deeply caring presence. His deeply thoughtful sermons and intellect spoke with wise counsel about the human condition and the state of our world.

During his ministry, Marc officiated numerous memorials, where his authentic presence helped comfort family members, friends and, whole communities. That he found time to serve (most recently as an ESL Tutor) beyond his own ministry at Foothills, often inspired us to find our own place of service in the web of life. His door was always open to anyone seeking counsel or a kind word (and maybe a corny pun), and his ambient sense of ease and generous welcome facilitated the congregation’s growth by nearly double during his ministry.

Marc retired from Foothills and the ministry in 2014. In acknowledgment of their gratitude for his service, the congregation voted Marc be designated Foothills’ Minister Emeritus as he concluded his ministry.

In honor of Marc and his ministry, a Remembrance Book for condolences, memories, and stories will be placed in the foyer of the church to be shared with Marc’s family. The book will be available when the church office is open and on Sunday.

The news of Marc’s death, as with any loss, will impact each of us in our own way. Grief has a way of wrestling its way into our hearts and lives and will journey with us for some time, if not always. Especially the grief for someone who has been present for a whole generation’s milestones, as Marc has been for many. Whatever complexity of feelings you may be experiencing from receiving this news, know they are normal and typical. We invite everyone in our church community to take time to care for themselves, and to reach out to support others, as this is a time for tenderness and compassion.

Details for a Celebration of Life have yet to be determined and the church will follow the direction of Marc’s family as to sharing this information with our community. His family has encouraged that any gifts of support be directed to the Southern Poverty Law Center or the Innocence Project, both organizations that represent the causes closest to Marc’s heart.

If you are looking for support and community, we encourage you to attend our first-ever Holiday Healing service led by our Ministerial Resident Kristen Psaki. This contemplative Vespers style service will take place on Thursday, December 13th, at 6:15 pm and is an opportunity to find community and stillness, in the midst of all types of loss and grief. Additionally, our seasonal grief small group Tangled Blessings, facilitated by Foothills’ community member and chaplain, Christopher Lamb, gathers on Dec. 17th at 6:30 pm, and is open to all.

In faith and partnership,

Revs. Gretchen Haley and Sean Neil-Barron

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron

Rev. Sean is Foothills Acting Senior Minister while Rev. Gretchen is on Sabbatical.
Responsible for Worship, Justice Ministries, Faith Formation Strategies and sits on Foothills Executive Leadership Team with Director of Finances and Operations Katie Watkins.

Sean was born on Treaty 7 land in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and comes to Foothills after four years in New England where he completed seminary at Harvard Divinity School where he studied alongside future imams, rabbis, justice activists, and other Unitarian Universalists. Sean is a self-proclaimed nerd — particularly about history, current politics, science, and Star Wars. Outside of ministry you will find Sean hiking or cooking up a storm with his partner Charles, watching his son’s basketball games, all under the watchful eye of their dog Dollie.

Dear members and friends,

I just set my alarm for slightly earlier than my usual Sunday morning 5:30. But instead of making the short journey up Drake to prepare for the holiday music service with all of you (one of my favorites!), I’ll be heading to the airport.

About 10 days ago, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Poor People’s Campaign sent out a call to clergy across the US to see who would be willing and able to join in an action at the San Diego/Tijuana border on December 10th. An action they call Love Knows No Borders: A Moral Call for Migrant Justice.

Over 200 faith leaders have responded. And I’m grateful to be among them.

For many across the US, this season marks a time that celebrates the welcome of a family seeking shelter. Both religiously and culturally, it is a time when we are remembering how much it matters how we treat those with the least power. And yet it is also a time in our country where we are meeting those the vulnerable with tear gas, detention, and fear-mongering.

UU minister Elizabeth Nguyen talks about the moment when news becomes family. I’m going to the border because for me, I’ve always felt a deep sense of the ways that migrants are family to me.

Not just because my daughter’s birth father immigrated from Mexico. Although, that’s definitely a part.

But even more because I remember my grandmother, who I look so much like, telling me about the Vietnamese immigrants she was helping in the mobile home park she oversaw for most of my life. How integrated this was to her religious faith, and what it meant to be a person.

And because my best friend up through 8th grade was an immigrant from Panama, and I definitely could not have made it through 4th grade without her.

And because my great grandparents needed the hope of a new life, and found it here in this country.

And most of all because it is my Unitarian Universalist faith that we are all in this life together. There is no liberation for me without liberation for all. As our new slogan says it – love unites us all! And, as the Christmas story reminds us, it is our responsibility to care for the homeless, the powerless, the refugees. To share the blessings of our lives, which are always, only a gift that we are called to pass on.

I fly out tomorrow at about 8:30. Sunday will be spent in trainings with other leaders, including Rev. Laurel from our sister church in Loveland, Namaqua UU. Sunday evening will include an interfaith service offered by the Poor People’s Campaign, with preaching from the incredible Rev. Traci Blackmon. Monday is the actual witness event at the border. There is risk involved, but not nearly the sort of risk that the migrants are facing walking thousands and thousands of miles to try to reach our borders.

I will be in touch as the events unfold. Foothills, have a wonderful music service tomorrow, where the theme is joy. I believe strongly that joy is an act of resistance in these times, and so, I hope it is a powerful morning of resistance and courage.

In partnership,
Rev. Gretchen

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron

Rev. Sean is Foothills Acting Senior Minister while Rev. Gretchen is on Sabbatical.
Responsible for Worship, Justice Ministries, Faith Formation Strategies and sits on Foothills Executive Leadership Team with Director of Finances and Operations Katie Watkins.

Sean was born on Treaty 7 land in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and comes to Foothills after four years in New England where he completed seminary at Harvard Divinity School where he studied alongside future imams, rabbis, justice activists, and other Unitarian Universalists. Sean is a self-proclaimed nerd — particularly about history, current politics, science, and Star Wars. Outside of ministry you will find Sean hiking or cooking up a storm with his partner Charles, watching his son’s basketball games, all under the watchful eye of their dog Dollie.