by Rev. Dave Dunn
Minister's Sabbatical
I am back from sabbatical!!!
First, I want to thank this congregation (i.e. all of you!!!) for being a congregation that supports its minister’s ability to take a sabbatical. I am truly grateful and appreciative of this gift. I am entering my ninth year of ministry at UUMAN and
although I needed a bit of a rest…I’m ready to go once again!
I have to extend a very special “thank you” to our Sabbatical Team (Amanda Bralley (Chair), David Kroeber, Anu Mongia, Tina Alexander and Bruce Langston) and to our Worship Team who kept every Sunday going with different worship
leaders each week. (With each minister having their own style, that can be a difficult task!) I’m so happy that you had an opportunity to hear fresh, new voices each and every week, I hope it was fulfilling to you all.
I heard one of the sabbatical ministers say that Dave was probably “reading a book on a beach somewhere.” I’m here to say that that was a patently false statement. It wasn’t on the beach but at a cabin at The Mountain. I spent the opening and closing weeks of my sabbatical at The Mountain where I did a lot of reading, hiking and harmonica playing ��. (Btw…I’m always reading something.)
From January to May I also took a Zoom course at Meadville-Lombard Theological Seminary entitled “Topics in Worship and Liturgy.” It was a wonderful, interactive and challenging class that took me (and all of us taking the class) a bit out of our comfort zone. I will be incorporating some of the many lessons learned from the course into our worship services from time to time.
I also spent about 18 hours each weekend (mid-January through mid-May) in yoga teacher training through the YTT Collective. We met most every Friday evening 5 – 9PM, Sat-Sun 10AM -5PM. That was a lot!!! …but I made it through and I am now a certified yoga teacher!
Despite having a wonderful sabbatical, I can’t wait to get back with you all at UUMAN. I’ve missed you! There is work to do however! I don’t need to tell you all that the world, and particularly this nation, needs the values, ethics and principles of Unitarian Universalism. It is a difficult time, though not a time devoid of hope. Simply engaging in our shared ministry with you all gives me great hope! It fills my soul! Let us continue onward!
Nurture our spirit. Strive for Justice. Transform the world.
Dave
