[UUCP] LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

[revpauld444]

Dear UUCP family,


*June 12, 2022 will mark ten years to the day that I was ordained by One
Spirit Interfaith Seminary. Some of you were present at that ceremony which
took place in Riverside Church in NYC. It will also mark the official date
of the beginning of my ministry with UUCP.*


* Ten years is a long time and we’ve seen many changes, not the least of
which each of us has grown ten years older! Health issues, death, the
Covid-19 pandemic are all things we’ve lived and helped each other through.
Our small but mighty congregation has moved twice during that time, and we
now have “moved” to the world of Zoom and the internet. Despite the
technical challenges we’ve all faced, we’ve managed to keep our Beloved
Community together and viable. We’ve even had a few members join online!*

*In the career of many, if not most minsters, ten years is a long time to
serve one congregation. As you all know, I had not planned on being here
that long, not because I don’t love this congregation, because I love you
all very much, but because I felt it was time to go and do other things.
Well, as the old saying goes, we make plans and the Universe / God/
Whatever laughs. When the pandemic hit and we were all sheltering in place
and isolating, the move that Lisa and I had planned had to be cancelled and
I offered to stay on. Graciously, the Board and all of you not only allowed
me to stay but welcomed Rev. Sonia on as co-minister.  She has been a great
asset and I know that you have all felt the warmth and love she brings
along with her spiritual teaching and her technical skills that have been a
boost in the spiritual arm of UUCP. I count it an honor to serve our
congregation with a One Spirit colleague and to call her a friend.*

*Now, the time has definitely come to move on. I have no specific plans for
what I will be doing, but I can say that it will not be in a ministerial
capacity except for the occasional guest in a pulpit if asked. I would like
to write. I still have some things to say. But I will also have to work and
like many people full “retirement” is not an option. I don’t think I could
do that, anyway. Well, maybe for a little while.*

*So, June 12, 2022 will mark the end of my ministry at UUCP. Of course,
none of us are certain if we’ll still be meeting on Zoom or in person.
Either way, I think it’s an appropriate date to end what has been the best
spiritual experience of my life. I’ve learned so much from all of you about
what it means to create Beloved Community. I’ve also learned much about
myself and hopefully have grown from that knowledge although I know I still
have a long way to go. Spiritual growth is a life-long process, after all. *

*I wanted to announce my intentions sooner than later so that, as a
community, we can consider the way forward. *

*But we still have about eight months left to work together and continue
building each other up and supporting the important work our spiritual
family does.*

*In the discussions you’ll be having in the next few months with the Board
and Rev. Sonia, I hope that each of you will consider how you, individually
and collaboratively, can contribute to the future health and continuation
of this marvelous spiritual community. I ask that each of you be supportive
of the Board and Rev. Sonia and encourage them in the important work they
do as your chosen leaders of UUCP.*

*I’m looking forward to talking with all of you and invite you to email me
with any questions or thoughts you may have.*


*Peace and Light, Rev. Paul    *

--
Rev. Paul S. Dodenhoff
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades
Englewood, NJ 07631
uucpalisades.org
revpauld444 at gmail.com
551-427-2648

*“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one,
my eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete
the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. But
from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”~~~ Theodore Parker,
Unitarian Minister, Transcendentalist, and Abolitionist, 1853*
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