Meet the First Parish Ministry Team
IMAGININGS
Kitsy was ordained in 1982, and has been a resident of Maine for more than a decade. In that time she has served numerous congregations up and down the Maine Coast and in Canada, including one in New Brunswick (where she continues to visit once a month). Kitsy’s main responsibilities are for Pastoral “Care Ring” and to the Life Long Learning Council, although as a resident of Portland she is also often available to respond in an emergency if none of the other team members are available.
Ever since early adolescence I have been greatly influenced by men, women and children (whether living or dead) whose lives, words and deeds contributed significantly to making the world a better world for us and other living beings. Today my home is filled with some of their words or their faces looking back at me, calling me again and again to my better self. I know that they all play a role in who I am and the life I live - both of which are works in progress, both still under construction.
For years now it has been a sadness to me to think of those children - adults, too - whose only "heroes" are so often rock stars or Hollywood celebrities or athletes. A young adult I spoke with recently had never heard of Albert Schweitzer, didn't know what either Susan B. Anthony or Rachel Carson were famous for, and wasn't too sure about Gandhi's contribution to the world. But he could name every sports figure of any repute, and his walls were plastered, he told me, with posters of his favorite rock stars, "macho men", and today's version of pin-up girls. (Okay, so I once had a big crush on Mario Lanza, filled a scrap-book with pictures of June Allyson cut from movie magazines of the 1950's, and swooned over the song "Earth Angel" in my teens. But sharing my inner adolescent life with them were Jesus, Albert Schweitzer, Florence Nightingale, Odetta, Pete Seeger, to name but a few.)
Recently a piece of encouraging news reached my ears. In a phone call with a long-time friend, she told me how on her most recent visit to the home of her eldest son, his wife and their three kids, she got to stay in the room of her oldest grandson, age 17, who was away on a school trip. She was, she told me, amazed and thrilled to find on HIS walls posters of Nelson Mandella, Rachel Carson, Gandhi, Albert Einstein and Shakespeare, among others.
Whether it's the movies or TV programs we - or children - watch, the stuff we bring up on our computers, what we listen to on the raidio, what we read in print media, journals and books-- or the people in whose presence we put ourselves - ALL influence us for good or ill, no matter whether we are aware of it or not.
And, of course, it's not only - or even mainly - famous human agents for good that influence who I am still becoming. It's ordinary folk who live well and "do good" in small as well as big ways - and it is the other living beings with whom we share this planet - who are also my living, daily sources of inspiration and comfort. Members of the congregations I have served - and this one which I currently serve - head my list in the positive human influence department. I learn from you every day; thank you!
If I have anything to add as I wind down here, I guess it would be: how might we become greater agents of inspiration to those around us - and beyond: children, youth and adults, many of whom are starving for stories of inspiring people. Whose picture(s) might you add to your (metaphoric) wall - and whose story might you tell to inspire others? Maybe it's your own. I'd LOVE to start a conversation about this. Let me know if you'd like to join in. With love, Kitsy (773-7738) revkitsy@hotmail.com
Will’s Quill
Will was ordained in 1972, and began his ministry in Brunswick, ME in 1976, while still completing his PhD in American History at Columbia. Will recently retired and was designated Minister Emeritus by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Portsmouth, NH, although he continues to serve the UUA actively in other ways, most prominently as the Trustee from the old NH/V District (which has now been consolidated with our district here in Maine). Will’s primary responsibility is to work with me, the rest of the staff, and our deeply devoted lay leadership group in order to develop a set of working “Standard Operating Procedures” that will allow us to grow. His experience and expertise in this area make him a valuable “coach” to our entire congregation, but it should also be said that Will is here to serve as my “back-up” in the event that my own health should suddenly take a serious turn for the worse.
wcs@hermitageinthewoods.org or wsaunders@uua.org
As Kitsy and I enter into the final stretch of our interim ministry with you, it may seem odd to alert you to the existence of a Transition Team. But, time being what it is, this is the time. Many of you know that, in recent years, one of the primary groups in the congregation has been a Committee on Ministry. This has been a group of five members of the congregation charged to alert a settled or called minister of circumstances/feelings/issues in the congregation which may affect his/her ministry and to be a place where the minister(s) might explore his/her own concerns, dreams and hopes. In most congregations, the group meets every six weeks or so.
As the listening post for the congregation, there are three critical guidelines this committee follows to assure health.
First, the Committee receives NO anonymous concerns or criticisms. Anonymous criticism is neither useful nor helpful. Names must be attached to both formal and informal conversations of the Committee. Second, the work of the Committee is just as important during happy times as during unhappy times. Thus, the Committee schedules regular meetings and resists the temptation to add "emergency" meetings. Third, the Committee conducts regular evaluations of the ministry of the Church, which includes not only the work of the called minister, but the work of the congregation as well. The best process is to have a single evaluation template which is utilized annually, so as to establish a baseline and the ability to track changes. An annual eassessment of how the minister and the ministry of the Church are doing must be a regular part of the Church year. It is not optional in a healthy organization.
During an interim year, a Transition Team functions in lieu of a Committee on Ministry. The Governing Board has selected four members of the congregation for its Transition Team: Brownie Wheeler, Jackie Oliveri, Vincent McKusick and Nancy McKusick. Because Kitsy and I are in the final stretch of our interim ministry with you, the assessment process is moot. But should you have concerns or discomforts which might be helpful to our work over the next three months, please do not hesitate to alert a member of the Transition Team.
Faithfully, Will