Month: August 2019 (Page 1 of 2)

Sliding into Service…

August 30, 2019 /

. . . is easy! Can you use the up and down arrows on your computer? Can you use a mouse? If you say yes to either question, then you can volunteer to run the worship slides.

The slides are all set up for you, in order, each Sunday by our A/V maven!

You need to be at church 10-15 minutes before the start of service.

Take your seat at the computer when the ministers walk into the Sanctuary.

You will want to listen deeply and pay close attention to the service which enables you to get so much more out of the service — no daydreaming looking out at the mountain view.

Singing along with the songs helps with the progression of slides.

Every possible mistake has been made with no ensuing crisis. The A/V folks can proclaim that we are a most forgiving congregation.

Finally, and most importantly, other UUs will be impressed by what seems to be your courage and techno-savvy and will shower you with gratitude. Can’t we all use a dose of gratitude?!

Jane Everham,
Member of the Slide Team

P.S. To join the Slide Team, fill out the form here, or use the blue Find Your Place pew card.

Discover What’s Possible Together

August 27, 2019 /

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Dear Foothills Members and Friends, 

The time is finally here to figure out how we are going to create a campus that is big enough for us to truly unleash all that our mission asks of us, and all that we dream of doing together.  

Throughout the month of September, there will be 18 opportunities for you to join a Focus Group. In these one-hour sessions, you’ll join with a small group of other Foothills’ folks to talk through the details of our building plans, and to assess our shared commitment and readiness to launch a full building campaign in the near future.

We are asking every member and supporter of Foothills to join one of these conversations. For attending, you’ll get to view a special 3D video of the full campus design so you can see what’s possible really come to life.

Based on what we learn in these sessions, the Board will be convening a report to the congregation at a special meeting in early October where we will decide together if we are ready to officially launch our campaign, and to decide our next steps for our future. 

Please sign up now for a session — this is going to take all of us! We have tried to vary the times/dates so that at least one will work for everyone. If you’re curious, go to the registration link to get an outline of what happens in a Focus Group.

It’s an exciting time — we can’t wait to discover what’s possible — together.

Looking forward to seeing you soon — on Sunday, and at a Focus Group!

Rev. Gretchen 

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Meeting One Another Again

August 19, 2019 /

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Dear Foothills community, 


I’m taking a big, deep breath as I write these words.  


It’s a breath of eager anticipation and excitement to see you all – I’ve missed you! I can’t wait to see you.


It’s a breath to tend to some anxiety I can feel, unsure what it will be like to return after the time away.   


It’s a breath of relief to be here, after this incredible time set-apart, to show up as I am, now, and to meet you as you are, now. 


And most of all, it’s a breath of gratitude. I cannot believe what a gift you have given me, and my family, and my ministry.  I’ve decided that everyone should get a sabbatical – that sabbaticals are a part of my vision of the Beloved Community! 


During my sabbatical, I’ve spent a lot of my time in my backyard, getting to know the dirt, the plants, the trees, the next-door-neighbor’s chickens, the rocks, the weeds, the squirrels. It’s been a time of resetting, both for my long-neglected garden, and for myself. 


There have been so many lessons along the way, but the one I want to start with, is about time. Which is, how much time it takes if you are going to really do the deeper work, the work of real transformation.


Sometimes, I’d realize that whole days had passed, and I’d barely made it more than a few feet further than I’d worked the day before. But this was what it took to get down deep, to make real change, to understand what is there, and also what is really possible. 


I start here because I think this is the invitation for us, too, as we move into this transition and reunion. 


It’s an invitation to go slowly, intentionally, carefully – and with curiosity and a sense of adventure for all that is possible.  


To really meet one another again, paying attention to the growth, the losses, the new curiosities we’ve experienced over this time. Noticing the shifts in the church system, in our individual lives, and in the world.  And for me to share the shifts in my life and sense of ministry.


To listen spaciously for who we are now, and for who we are becoming as we stretch forward into the years ahead.


It’s an intention that honors the time we’ve spent apart and the work that we’ve done, by taking this transition seriously.  And as this month’s series says, by taking it personally. 


It’s an intention that is not shallow, or superficial, but deep, and real. Which means most of all moving at a pace that tends to our whole system’s health, and wholeness.  I’ve been thinking this transition will take about the same amount of time I was away to feel complete.


It’s perfect to begin with this Sunday’s Water Communion – a ritual about gathering in, and a celebration of the ways we are changed simply by meeting one another, and by forming real and deep community. 


I am so looking forward to being with you again this Sunday. Be sure to RSVP here so we can send you all the details about the gathering – 10 am, Northside Aztlan Center. 


Another big breath. 


See you Sunday.

Gretchen

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It’s Personal

August 16, 2019 /

Have you ever noticed that whenever someone says “Don’t take this personally but” no matter what the next words out of their mouth can not be taken any way but personally. 

When people have said “Don’t take this personally but I don’t believe being gay is nature”, it’s hard for me (Rev. Sean) to respond by saying “of course I won’t take your statement that  disregards my inherent worth and dignity personally, I’ll place it over here in a bucket of theoretical statements about things you believe that even though they impact me deeply, I’ll suspend any judgement or feelings about for the sake of your request”.

Don’t take this personally is another way of saying “I know you might be hurt by this or” or “It’s not about you even though you are involved”. But most of the time “Don’t take this personal” is a way of communicating don’t be a person about this.

 Don’t be…..A person who has insecurities, emotions and hangups. 

        A person who is porous and internalizes the world around them.

      A person with a specific and unique story that is still unfolding. 

Instead be a robot — unfeeling, dispassionate, and utterly generic and replaceable. 

It’s Personal is a worship series that begins August 18th that asks the question: what if we did take it personally and how might that change everything. 

Making It Personal wading through the water towards deep rather than shallow relationships. 

When we make it personal, what was once generic and distance becomes real and intimate. What might have gone ignored or unseen, is now in our faces. When we make it personal what might have once been only theoretical— terms like the beloved community, people living with addiction and mental health struggles, the kids that annoy you as they talk to their parents during worship —  start to have a face, and a story, and personalities, and depth in that true messy yet beautiful human way. 

In short, making it personal is the bridge towards relationships that actually matter. 

Sean’s Reflections on the End of Gretchen’s Sabbatical

August 15, 2019 /

Dear Wonderful Foothills Community,

On Monday, I removed Acting Senior Minister from my email signature line. It was just over 14 weeks ago that Rev. Gretchen, Foothills’ Senior Minister, stepped out into her time of sabbatical. And you will be hearing more from her about her time away in the weeks and months to come, but in this moment of transition, I wanted to share a few reflections. 

Sabbatical is a collective venture and so are its blessings. While it’s easily apparent what time away from ministry might afford for renewal, what might be more hidden are the gifts that sabbatical has brought to our congregation in Gretchen’s absence. 

Sabbatical has reinforced to us that the church has always been and will also be greater than any individual minister, staff member, or lay member. The vision of being a church of humanity unleashing courageous love, could never be and should never be thought to be contained or connected to a single person. Sabbatical didn’t mean church stopped or was put on hold, put in limbo for a quarter of a year. 

Sabbatical invited us to take on new ways of being. Staff members portfolios shifted into new areas. Church members stepped up into critical leadership roles to fill the needs that arose. One prominent example is Foothills member, Karen Harder stepping into a newly created role of Lay Pastoral Care Minister. But it’s the small shifts and moments too. It was the grace that we offered each other when something didn’t get done. It was the hospitality volunteers that stayed for the next service to make sure everything went smoothly. 

Sabbatical flexed our muscles for faith and trust. It was not lost on me that during our sabbatical 60% of our full-time staff were millennials. Each day of the sabbatical I was reminded of the deep trust that being placed in my ministry. It was humbling, terrifying — and because there wasn’t a second that went by that I felt alone or partnerless in our work— it was deeply beautiful. Which isn’t to say there were not many challenging moments — there were many. I imagine it will take me some time to process the experience, as of right now I am mostly filled with a deep thankfulness for everyone in our community. 

As was our plan, for the past few weeks Gretchen and I have been meeting in advance of her return and over the next three weeks she will be stepping back into her role.

Gretchen’s first Sunday back in worship will be our All Church Water Communion Celebration at the Northside Rec Center on August 25th. 

Our Sabbatical Team has been collecting your experiences about this sabbatical time in order to help us learn about the experience, because this may have been the first sabbatical in a long time but it won’t be the last. If you have thoughts please sent them to sabbatical@foothillsuu.org.

Fourteen weeks is a long short time and I am so grateful to be welcoming Gretchen back this week. I’ve missed her, and I know the staff as well. And because many of you have asked, once Gretchen is fully back in her role in Sept/Oct I will be taking some time away for vacation and study leave. 

In faith and partnership,

Rev. Sean Neil-Barron
Associate Minister

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