Author: Rev. Gretchen Haley (Page 2 of 7)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are all holding the tension of this moment, of the smoke outside our windows, the rising COVID numbers, and the pending election. At so many moments we feel powerless, but over the next few weeks we hold great power. We each have an opportunity to put our faith in action, as we cast a vote. A vote that enables us to make our values known alongside millions of other Americans.

We are so excited to be participating in UU the Vote this week, a powerful movement in which we are invited to join the effort to get out the vote – to help our brothers and sisters in our communities and across the country access their power of choice. We are ecstatic to have Rev. Elizabeth Nugyen guide and inspire us in this process.

To UU the Vote during a pandemic is not just voter engagement, it means we:

Act Local to Build Thriving Communities: Community is at the heart of democracy. Housing, food security, health and self-determination are the pillars of a thriving community. COVID-19 has thrown more folks deeper into preexisting crises that threaten lives and democracy.

All in on the Issues, All in on Democracy: 
Justice and Freedom for All. The U.S. carceral system is a threat to human thriving and democracy. Jails, prisons, detention centers, and the policing and surveillance of our communities are contrary to the principles of a democratic society.

Share Spiritual Resilience:
Justice work is deeply spiritual work. As we move through this moment our hearts, minds, and bodies are informing our work. Our joys and weariness are constantly shifting, but community is always our anchor. We are creating hope together.

We hope you’ll join us and be inspired to put your faith into action this week.

In love and kindness,
The Foothills Team[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Rev. Gretchen Haley

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

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As my kids have gotten older, we’ve learned to accept that whatever they want to watch on the internet, they are going to watch. It’s a little like when I was younger and my friends who didn’t have TVs would come over and want to watch TV the whole time. You just can’t stop teenage curiosity and ingenuity.

So instead of trying to lock down devices entirely, we have reminded them to ask themselves, “Is this really something you want to see? Because you can’t unsee it once you’ve seen it.”

Now, after they’ve made a choice to watch something they regret, they’ll say to me, Oh no, now I can’t unsee it!

And in this moment I feel both a twinge of parental pride, as well as a deep compassion and sympathy. Especially lately. Because lately, there have been many, many things I wish I could unsee.

The challenge in times like we’re in – overwhelming times, anxious times – however, is not to try to “unfollow” the painful or difficult realities around us. Because checking out would mean missing out on being a part of the healing and the transforming – in ourselves, and in the world.

Instead, times like these ask us to build the habits, and develop the inner fortitude to manage the anxiety and stress that arise when we stay present, honestly with reality, as it actually is: Heartbreaking. Overwhelming. Breathtakingly beautiful. Generous. Surprising. Still unfolding.

In our corner of reality this week, we got some news that I wish I could unsee…. Tanner Linden let us know that he has accepted a full-time position with the Church of the Larger Fellowship, the largest UU congregation, and the organization he’s been with for the last few years.

We are all really disappointed to be cut short on our time with Tanner – and also, after we all took those orienting deep breaths we’ve been practicing, we also are so glad for him and for Unitarian Universalism that he has this chance to do such important work. You can read more about his news in his letter here. And look for information on what’s next for the Foothills staff team in the coming weeks.

Whatever reality you’re trying to meet today, and whatever you’re wishing you could unsee – I hope you’ll join us this Sunday so we can keep practicing together. Alongside a few special guests from around Fort Collins, we will be exploring what happens when our reality comes into contact with another’s vastly different reality. I hope you’ll join us, at 9 or 11 – details below.

With love, and in partnership.

Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Rev. Gretchen Haley

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

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I don’t know about you, but my social media feed this Wednesday was filled with regret. I mean – regrets from those who’d chosen to watch the debate! And, who, even 24 hours later, were left with a sense of anxiety and destabilization they couldn’t quite shake.

Whether you chose to watch the debate or not, you might still be finding yourself dealing with a general state of anxiety or hyper-vigilance, disorientation, or grief given the state of the world these days. It can leave us all under-resourced – aka a little testy – and not necesarily all that fun to be around.

This Sunday we’re offering to deal with this common state, in a service called “Whelmed.” It’s inspired by the funny fact that while you can be “underwhelmed,” or “overwhelmed,” being simply “whelmed” still implies being overcome by an emotional state…aka “overwhelmed!” There is no middle ground to claim, at least linguistically speaking. So if this is resonating for you, join us this Sunday! And invite a friend who is feeling “whelmed.” More info below.

Speaking of friends, there’s a lot going on in our church as we imagine the next iteration of how we do community, spiritual growth, and justice together. Check out the update from Rev. Sean in the short video below.

See you Sunday – with love,
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/WSLFT3grjV8″ align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/N9c2XtYSOCA” align=”right”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Rev. Gretchen Haley

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

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Colorado weather has always been a little chaotic, and 2020 has brought all kinds of talk of us living in end times, but this week’s start of ash falling from the sky one day followed immediately by snow falling was next level apocalypse. 

The painful eeriness of this moment was captured really well this week when the Washington Post (and other national news outlets) picked up Foothills’ member Scott Denning’s photo of his home.

It’s an incredible photo, but what really struck me was the fact that they ran the photo without recognizing that Scott is a nationally renowned expert and speaker on climate science. He’s spent the better part of the last couple decades trying to get people to acknowledge and act before extreme weather like we’re now experiencing became a reality! And here, once again, his message was set aside while we marvel at this strange world we are living in.

It’s fitting that they missed the link though. In this world where we so often fail to diagnose the reasons for this strangeness and these struggles, and where instead we end up blaming each other, or the most vulnerable – and we never really solve any of them! It’s maddening! And heart wrenching!

And yet….what always inspired me about Scott’s talks, and what you could see in his imaginative reflection last Sunday is that he always reminds us – it’s never too late to act.  It’s always too soon to give up.  There are always choices ahead of us that can make the world better.  We always have a part.

It’s a good reminder about our climate and our earth, and it’s a good reminder in these days overall.

In these times where optimism can be hard to find, I’ve really felt that sense of perseverence alive in our church lately.  As we say in our values – a joyful resilience to keep going not with life as a slog, but as a gift.  It’s available in the invitation to virtual Buckhorn this Friday, and it’s in the upcoming chance to sing with our virtual choir – no musical talent required!   And it will definitely be the spirit of our upcoming Auction – check out all the fun details below.

Thank you for all the ways you continue to show up and with joy – let’s do it again this Sunday at 9 and 11 as we wrap up our Re-Opening (Your Heart) series with a service on what it’s time for in our lives, and what it’s not.  See you there.

With love,
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Rev. Gretchen Haley

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

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I am still feeling all the feelings from our water communion week!

It was so wonderful to see your faces in the videos – and some of you in person at the few sites I was able to get to! It reminded me of how powerful it can be to find ways to both experience the familiar traditions as we move into the fall, yet also make space for innovation and creativity. That way we’re not just experiencing a likely disappointing approximation of the thing we treasure – we’re getting to connect with that thing, while also feeling inspired by something new.

Moments like this feel – fittingly – like watering stops in the marathon. And over the next few months we’re going to be coming back to this sort of same yet different experience again, and again. It’s what we hope you’ll experience in the Virtual Buckhorn event we have planned on the 11th, in the upcoming “Conn-Auction” on Sept 19th/20th, and what we’re already thinking about for Pumpkin Carving and all the things we value at Foothills in the Fall. And all of this is possible because of your presence, and partnership – in the tradition and innovation.

So with that in mind – thank you so much, to everyone who showed up, to all of our site hosts, and a special shout out to those who collected water from those who couldn’t make it to a location. This video of longtime member Dick Pilmore in his front porch water communion (with Susan Williams) is such a boost of joy![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/yti3UUEiVFQ”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you missed it, be sure to check out the videos of both the individual sites and the coming together.

This Sunday we’ll continue our Re-Opening (Your Heart) series with a fun service for Labor Day where we’ll hear from members of our community of all ages as they imagine what it would look like if we all took a gap year. It’ll be a fun way in to the next tool for keeping your heart open – moving into the unknown space where possibility can really emerge.

Can’t wait to see you all this Sunday – all the details are below.

With love,
Rev. Gretchen

PS Big congratulations and shared sigh of relief to all the parents and kids and educators and school staff who are officially in the full stream of the school year! Sending you all love and solidarity![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”38050″ img_size=”large” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”foothillsuu.org/livestream”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Rev. Gretchen Haley

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