Author: Rev. Gretchen Haley (Page 1 of 7)

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

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 

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.  

Anger, Heartbreak, and Chaos at the Capitol

January 7, 2021 /

Usually when I write a post like this, especially in this last year, I start with a wish that I hope that this finds you doing well. But tonight, I am hoping that this finds you angry, and deeply disturbed.

 

Because what happened today in our country should anger and disturb all of us.

Thousands of rioters pressed in on the capitol this afternoon, scaled the walls, broke out the windows, banged on the door of the chamber as they attempted to certify the election results. A shoot out on the House floor had Representatives crouching and donning gas masks. The crowd called out for Vice President Mike Pence, as his willingness to perform his constitutional duty was seen as a final betrayal. Afterall, that’s what the President had said in the rally immediately preceding these appalling acts of domestic terrorism.

 

I’m sure many of you were busy with other things throughout your day so if you haven’t had a chance to see videos, or read or listen to the reports, take the time. This day will go down in history, and it should. If it happened in any other country, our leaders would be clearly condemning the attempted coup.

 

In his statement, former President Barack Obama described how we should not fool ourselves into believing today’s events were a total surprise. “For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell the truth – that this was not a particularly close election and that President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we’re seeing the consequences, whipped into a violent crescendo.”

 

That it should not surprise us does not mean, however, that it should fail to move us. As I write this, Congress has returned to do its work, and while I agree that this is ultimately important for its signal of the persistence and resilience of our institutions and our country, I can’t help imagine the trauma that all those who were ducking in aisles and contemplating fighting their way out through the violence had experienced earlier in the day.

 

They and we all need to take the time to feel the fear, the uncertainty, the shock, and the anger that this experience inspires in all who would affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person. An affirmation that faces attack by all those who would seek to undermine the results of a repeatedly proven fair and free election. And an affirmation that we start to question when we’ve watched federal police in riot gear confront protesters for racial justice all year and yet today, protestors were met instead with police ready to take selfies with them as they desecrated the nation’s capitol.

 

We need to make space for all of our feelings so that we can allow our fear and our anger to keep us connected to – rather than distant from – what we love.

 

Anger is a complicated emotion, and we’ve seen today how it can often lead us to danger and division. But that’s why we need to give anger its rightful due. Because behind our anger lives our heartbreak. Heartbreak for our nation. Heartbreak for our shared humanity. Heartbreak for people of color who didn’t need the last few years to know about the failed American dream. Heartbreak for the real lives (and this year we see so explicitly, the deaths) that are impacted when the love for power overshadows a commitment to democracy.

 

What heartbreak lives behind your anger?

 

If you remember the interview I had with Florence Field a few months ago, she spoke in the end about the fragility of democracy. Today we saw her words play out in more explicit pressing ways than many of us have ever seen in our lifetimes. And so my prayer this evening is that we will let the heartbreak that drives our anger remind us of our deepest values.

For me, that starts with reminding us that part of what it means to affirm the inherent worth of every person is to hold them accountable for their behavior. Whether we’re talking about rioters storming the capitol or the President who incited them.

 

And it includes nudging us to remember that don’t just commit in our faith to affirming our first principle, but also our fifth. In the days to come, may we each work to protect, renew and strengthen our democracy. Not because it is a perfect institution – and certainly not because our country has yet shown itself as a perfect example of its best. But because it offers us a way to live out our inherent worth and dignity within a diverse and even divided community. And it will not thrive without our diligence, our commitment, and our vision.

 

Though I started this post with a wish for disturbance, ultimately I hope you are finding the tools and the resources to move through this uncertain time with strength and resilience. As I said last Sunday, we have shown this year that we can persevere through great challenge and find through it all a persistent joy. Please reach out if you are struggling a little more than usual, and know that you are not alone.

 

With love, and in faith,

 

Gretchen

What You Need for the Week Ahead

October 31, 2020 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]How are you doing?

If the election of 2016 came as a shock, as you move through this next week, you will hold in your body and heart the sense memory of all you experienced that week. It may show up in surprising ways this week – all that grief, fear, pain you felt back then, coming up all over again.

So, be gentle with yourself, and with those around you. Limit your screen time (no poll or opinion piece can bring the certainty you’re craving!). Go for walks outdoors. Lean into our gratefulness practice. Allow yourself to feel your feelings (pushing them away just intensifies them!). Do those things that bring you comfort, and that remind you of the greater arc of history that we are a part of. The great universe our service last Sunday centered on. Look up at the sky, eat the stars.

To help with the week ahead, we’ve prepared a special Pulse focused on tools and opportunities for the coming week. Pick one or two, or engage all of them. Whatever path will help the moments of the week ahead connect with the greater movement of love and justice worthy of our steadfast dedication and stewardship.

Whatever happens in this week, know that we will figure out the right response, the right next thing. We are in this together, for the long haul. Keep breathing. Trust that wherever you are, whatever the state of your moments, whatever the state of your heart, you are loved, just as you are.

In faith,
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

A Message for the Moment…

October 23, 2020 /

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last week, the night sky – at least according to my star app – was supposed to be perfect. Perfect to glimpse Mars, perfect for the shooting meteors coming from Orion.

Looking up, and out at the great mystery of our sky has been a part of my nightly practice during COVID. It started with the howl, but even once people grew tired of acting like pack creatures, I found myself sneaking out for a breath as dark set in. Let the dogs out. Look up. Breathe. Release. Keep going.

Something about seeing how big it all is; how tiny we are. How amazing it is to be alive at all. How even more amazing it is that we manage to make something of our lives, our bodies, our days – even though we are just specks of dust….I mean, star dust. How powerful and powerless we are! A part of everything – the movement of life, and love, and mystery and creation and change; and also, just a part.

The trick is to hold on to this feeling, this sense of the greater arc of history, the surrender into mystery ,and hope – even once I come back inside. To find the movement in life’s everyday moments. And to connect these moments in with the greater movement.

And even more, to hold on to this feeling, even when the app is wrong and the stars and Mars are covered instead by thick smoke pointing less to transcendent wonder than to existential fear, and grief. To trust that just because we can’t see them, doesn’t make them less there.

A few months back, as we were planning our new series that launches this Sunday, we were all too aware of just how vulnerable our moments might feel, how hard it might be to see that larger movement.

In these weeks surrounding the election, as the earth turns, and the light lessens, and as the pandemic powers on, if you’re feeling a little (or a lot) on edge, wondering what it all means, and how to keep going, you’re not alone.

It’s why in these days, we need to find ways to connect with that larger movement of life, and the movement of courageous love passed on generation-to-generation, a movement worthy of our dedication, and loyalty, and stewardship – regardless of the state of any given moment. We need the hope of being for something, rather than just against. We need to turn to wonder, and curiosity, kindness and gratitude.

And together, we need to remember ourselves as a part of this universe (as our reading this Sunday goes: “no outer space, just space”), held by a love that persists, and calls us on.

Whatever the state of your moments, however you are feeling, we hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we lean into all of these practices with a service Rev. Sean and I are co-leading with the amazing and brilliant Scott Denning. Visit the series web page to learn more.

Keep going, keep loving, one breath at a time.
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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