Month: February 2025 (Page 1 of 2)

Rev. Gretchen’s Sabbatical Plans

February 28, 2025 /

Dear Foothills community,

After last Sunday’s service, a member half-jokingly compared a sabbatical to pregnancy—there’s never a good time. While I’ve never been pregnant, I get it! Last year, I postponed my sabbatical to be here for our move into the new building. This year, with the world in such turmoil, I can hardly believe I’m stepping away. But the truth is, there’s never a perfect time.

On the other hand, unlike my kids’ arrival into our family (which happened with mere hours’ notice), I’m grateful to have had months to prepare and plan. Even though it feels like a strange time to leave, I’m confident in and grateful for the solid plans in place—the work that will continue, the things that will pause, and the shifts we’ve made for the months ahead.

This letter offers an overview of those plans and some general details about my sabbatical.

Sabbatical Timing & Practices

My sabbatical begins Monday, March 3, and I return July 31. I’ll be in town about half the time and traveling the other half, with trips to Moab (with family), rural Maryland (solo), New York City (with colleagues), Baltimore (for UUA General Assembly), and Yellowstone (with family).

At home and away, I’ll focus on renewing my spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being—and writing the kind of things I don’t usually write for Sundays.

While I’m on sabbatical, I will not have access to email, social media, or my work phone. I won’t be involved in Foothills or aware of what’s happening in the church, except in specific cases identified by Rev. Sean Neil-Barron and Katie Watkins, who are leading in my absence.

Because this is a small community, if we run into each other over this time, it’s completely fine to say hello! I ask that you don’t bring up things related to Foothills, simply to respect the boundary of the sabbatical. As I have told a few of you, I’m not really a person that can be a little bit in with church!

Sabbatical Coverage 

  • While I am away, Rev. Sean will be the Acting Senior Minister, and be the lead minister in accountable relationship with the Board of Trustees. He will hold executive authority around ministry and programs. He will be the lead for worship, justice, and in our strategies for faith formation. 
  • Katie, our Director of Finance and Operations, will move into a direct accountable relationship with the Board as well, specifically around finances and in our responsibility to our staff. Katie will also be the acting Chief of Staff in my absence. 
  • Rev. Elaine Aron-Tenbrink will step into a full-time role, leading all small groups and continuing to oversee pastoral care.
  • To support pastoral needs, Rev. Roger Butts will serve on-call, responding as needed under Rev. Elaine’s coordination. Rev. Christopher Watkins Lamb will lead a grief group. I’m deeply grateful to have these two ministers stepping in more fully.

Staffing Adjustments

To support both the sabbatical and our long-term ministry, we’ve made a few structural shifts:

  • Our Director of Music, Sophia Miller now oversees all worship production (including in-person and online systems) in addition to leading our music ministry. As a reminder, Sophia works in a hybrid role and her upcoming onsite dates include: March 13-18, April 24-30, and June 23–Sept 2. You can also always reach her at sophia@foothillsuu.org.
  • Lauren Kenning is now reporting to Sophia, and directly supporting worship production through systems implementation and administrative coordination, A/V and worship host team support, and Church Center worship-related production. Lauren also helps fill in at the front desk. 
  • Caitlin Seifert now supports all small groups—for adults, children, and youth—ensuring spaces are ready and assisting group leaders. They continue to support families on Sundays and are our most consistent front desk presence.
  • Lauren Farley will move (over the next 1-2 months) into an enhanced version of her current role in engaging newcomers and supporting people of all ages in their partnership in the congregation. We are still figuring out the right title, but it is something in the range of pathway and belonging. It brings her more responsibility in the areas of communication, and reduces some of her responsibility in family ministry. 
  • We will hire a new part-time family ministry staff member to fill the gap as Lauren moves into her new role.
  • Jenn Powell will be more fully supporting the needs of our rental partners, as well as supporting internal leaders in their use of our facility. She will continue to work as our office manager, while also increasing her role in fundraising and donor relations. She will also continue her key leadership in anchoring both Sundays and in caring for people through memorials.
  • Eleanor VanDeusen, Holly Ayala, our music leaders, and our childcare and preschool staff will all remain in their current roles – for which we are deeply grateful! 

Below, you’ll find organizational charts for further clarity. For questions, reach out to Sean or Katie.

Final Thoughts 

Earlier today, I greeted a small group finishing their session in one of our classrooms. They were all carrying with them, a frozen peach. They had just re-read the poem we shared on Sunday, From Blossoms, and one of their members had distributed frozen peaches with the reminder, that we need not wait for peach season to taste joy. 

This moment summed up so much of what I love about this community. Your creativity in bringing themes to life. Your care for one another—especially in these times. And as I said last Sunday, your ability to cultivate joy no matter what.

It’s also why I’ll miss you so much during my sabbatical. And it’s also why I know you’ll thrive without me. You’re so good at taking care of each other—and at bringing each other peaches, both literally and metaphorically.

On Sunday, we’ll have a small ritual of transition. I hope you’ll come say goodbye—until August, and peach season!

With love,

Rev. Gretchen 

Love in the Face of Bigotry

February 16, 2025 /

Having a public ministry means that sometimes, letters of hate arrive in our inboxes and mailboxes. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last. We could ignore them, but sometimes, they deserve a response—not to argue, but to name a deeper truth.

Such was the case this week, on February 13th, we received a letter filled with transphobic rhetoric, misusing the language of faith to justify harm.

Words are never just words—they land in our bodies, shaping our emotions and our sense of safety. Like stones tossed into water, they create ripples that spread far beyond their initial impact.

The old saying tells us that sticks and stones may break bones, but words will never hurt us—but we know better. Words shape our realities, reinforce harm or healing, and define the space in which we feel free or afraid. When words are used to diminish, dismiss, or erase, they do more than sting—they wound. And so, instead of just holding it in, we chose to respond. Not to the letter writer directly, since they left no return address, but for ourselves, for our community, and for all who need to hear a different message. We shared our response, a love letter, on social media, ensuring that the legacy of this letter was not hate, but love.

Viewed 16,721 times and counting, our words reached far beyond the harm, reminding thousands that love is always louder.

Our Response

Dear Letter Writer

You didn’t leave a return address but if you did, this is what I would say.

There is a love wider than fear, deeper than control, queerer than we were ever taught to expect. A love that delights in people becoming more themselves, not less. A love that whispers to every trans and nonbinary kid: You are real. You are holy. You are enough.

And while many UUs aren’t Christian, I can still answer the question you pose: What kind of Christian love affirms trans kids? The kind that actually listens to Jesus. The kind that knows fear isn’t faith. The kind that understands love was never meant to be a cage—it was meant to set us free. And here’s the truth:

A child discovering who they are is not a tragedy.
A child being safe enough to tell the truth is not a threat.

A child being met with love instead of shame is not abuse. But denying them that love? That is a tragedy. That is a threat to their dignity. That is abuse. So here’s my street-corner, megaphone sermon:
Life is vast. Love is vaster. And if your faith has to erase someone to feel safe, it’s not faith—it’s fear. But good news, my dear letter writing friend: There’s a better way. It’s big and bright and free. And whether you believe it or not, you are already held in that love. May you know it someday. May you let it in. May you freakin’ sparkle.
-Rev. Sean Neil-Barron

Choosing What We Hold

The world throws many things at us—anger, fear, bigotry. We do not always get to choose what arrives at our doorstep, but we do get to choose what we do with it. Hate, if left unprocessed, lingers. It festers. But we are not powerless. We can move it through. We can shift the weight. We can transform it.

Psychologists Emily and Amelia Nagoski remind us: emotions have a beginning, a middle, and an end. If we don’t complete the cycle, they remain unfinished inside us. Completing the cycle means deliberately metabolizing what we take in.

So how do we metabolize harm without letting it consume us?

  • Move your body → Shake off the tension, go for a run, dance out the stress.
  • Deep breathing / prayer → Calm your nervous system, reconnect with spirit.
  • Crying, laughter, creativity → Let the emotion complete its cycle.
  • Action → Write a letter, call your representatives, gather with your community. Turn the emotional energy into something constructive.

For us, writing this response was part of that cycle. We didn’t want the legacy of this letter to just be its bigotry. We wanted to transform it into something more—more love, more clarity, more courage.

So, what are your practices for metabolizing harm? What helps you process the heaviness so that it does not stay lodged inside you? This is your invitation: find a way. Dance, cry, breathe, act. Choose to make love, not hate, the lasting imprint. And when the world comes at you with harm, meet it with something greater

Music Makes Belonging

February 14, 2025 /

When I tell people outside of Foothills about what happened in 2024 with our music ministry, most people are surprised, and also confused. Which I understand! It is surprising, and confusing, that after our prior music director Benjamin Hanson resigned last May, and then attempting a national search that didn’t result in a match, we actually ended up hiring a music director who for much of the year lives off site. So then, I try to explain how it unfolded….

How Sophia Miller came to spend the summer in Fort Collins, and basically, the match between us was just too magical to walk away from. How even from a distance she is more “here” with us in the work, and the relationships, and the mission, than I could have ever imagined would be possible.

I try to explain – but it’s really not easy. All I know is that it’s sort of like when I told a small group of music leaders about the plan as it was starting to get clear – I was nervous about what they would think, and they all immediately said, well, maybe it would be confusing if you didn’t know Sophia. But if you know Sophia, you’d know immediately why it would work.

So that is what we realized we wanted to do more of. We want to help you get to know Sophia, with the hopes that you can more fully understand how her commitment to our community and our mission, that she would say yes to this job, and be so brilliant at being so present – even though she’s only technically on site for about 7 days a month. (Although she will be here for 10 weeks this summer!) We hope you’ll take time to listen to the whole conversation – the end has some of the best parts!

The story of our music ministry over the last year is surprising, but it really isn’t confusing. It’s just one of those things that happens sometimes – when all your plans don’t work out – but then in place of all those things you had in mind, you are offered instead a mini-miracle and your only job is to say thank you. For this partnership, for music, for this church, and for the ministry that we get to do together.

We also want to take this opportunity to invite you to come and sing on Wednesdays with our Foothills Adult Choir. We have a special newcomer rehearsal next Wednesday February 19th at 6:30. Both Sophia and our choir director, Benjamin will be there. All are welcome.

When so many other parts of the world are unstable, singing together can be a vital anchor of connection, community, and possibility.  Learn more and sign up for choir here.  

Update on Room Reservations at Foothills

February 6, 2025 /

We know it’s been frustrating at times to figure out how to reserve a room or get your event fully supported—and our old system didn’t always match the energy and mission you bring to Foothills. We hear you, and we’re working to change that. 

To do that we are revamping our process for requesting rooms and promotion for groups within Foothills. Our aims are to reduce confusion, streamline communication, and ensure your events get the resources and attention they deserve.

Two Key Forms for Group Leaders

1. Group Meeting Space Request Form

  • Purpose: For your regularly scheduled group meetings that do not require wider promotion.
  • Link: Group Meeting Space Request Form
  • Example: A recurring committee or ministry team meeting where you simply need a room and a time slot. Or, a group gathering that is only for your group.

2. Church-Wide Events (Facility Use & Promotion Form)

  • Purpose: For any gathering that invites broader participation than your existing group members or needs extra publicity because you are recruiting new members 
  • Link: Facility Use & Promotion Form
  • Example: An invitation to join a new round of small groups, an event put on by your group that seeks to invite people who are not in your group.


Tip: To ensure plenty of time for effective promotion, please submit your requests at least two weeks before you want publicity to begin.

 

Group Leader Hub

Additionally we are beginning to build out the Group Leader Hub on ChurchCenter, that will contain a one stop shop for everything you need as a group leader. You can access it at online or from the ChurchCenter app in the Nav menu. 

Next Steps
  • Bookmark the Links: Keep these forms handy for quick reference.
  • Start Using Them: From now on, please use these forms for all building use requests or event planning.
  • Spread the Word: If you know other group leaders who need guidance, point them to these forms or this email.
Thank you for your patience while we improve. We’re excited to build a system that truly supports the life and mission of our congregation. If you have any questions, just let us know!

P.S. Rental Requests
For any outside organization or new community group looking to use our facilities (whether paid or free), please direct them to the Rental Request Intake Form.

Notice of Meeting: Congregational Meeting, Feb. 23, 2025

February 5, 2025 /

NOTICE OF CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

The Board of Trustees announces Foothills’ will host a congregational meeting on Sunday, February 23rd at 1 PM. This meeting will be available to attend online and in person.  The purpose of this meeting is to vote on the annual operating budget for 2025, Q2-Q4. Please CLICK HERE to register for the Congregational Meeting.

Unitarian Universalist churches are independent and self-governing. Annually, each congregation must vote to approve its budget for the upcoming year.

Our bylaws require a quorum of 10 percent of our membership to convene this budget approval meeting. We encourage all friends members of the congregation to attend. Per our church bylaws, in order to vote in congregational meetings, you must be on the membership rolls at least 30 days in advance of the meeting.  If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact the Foothills office at (970) 493-5906.

In December, we voted to approve the Q1 Budget to allow us to address cash flow challenges – you can read more about that and the other topics covered here. The meeting agenda will consist of a review of 2024 yearend financials and update on cash flow, and details of the 2025 budget.

We look forward to seeing you at this important moment in the life of our congregation.

Mary Klecan
President
Board of Trustees

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