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
Rev. Gretchen Haley has an audacious ambition for the liberal church, believing in its capacity to transform lives and our world by way of hyper-local relationships and partnerships that inspire the unleashing of courageous love. She oversees worship, community resourcing and outreach, and the intersectional work of our justice teams. She also serves as chief of staff, and ministry lead to the Board. In all of these, she is inspired by the commitment of the countless people who show up to do the sometimes-messy work of the church, and who are leading us to live into our mission for Northern Colorado as it is growing and changing. Her ministry is infused with her relentless curiosity about most things, especially the big stuff of theology, the beauty of creation, the magic of collaboration, and the joy of pop culture. She’s all in on adrienne maree brown’s emergent strategy, and finds solace in the trails in and around Fort Collins. She moved to Colorado from Washington state over 20 years ago for grad school in theatre, and knew immediately that she would never leave. She and her amazing partner, Carri, have 2 teenagers, Gracie and Josef, who both relish and resent being PKs, and who keep her grounded, frustrated, inspired, and humbled, everyday. She is basically obsessed with her two dogs, both large mutts, Charlie and Archer.
Responsible for: Worship, Community Resourcing and Outreach, Justice Ministries, and Congregational Leadership