From the Heart of the Minister:
It is good to be back. I, once again, want to thank you for the generous gift of time away. This time allowed me to relax, regenerate my soul, and reimagine our future. I spent the first week away participating online in the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly and the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association's Ministry Days. I spent a week visiting with my sister Rebecca, and other family in the Berkshires. I was able to see my sister as she participated in the Jewish ritual of an adult Bat Mitzvah. We also went to Tanglewood to see a Paul Simon concert, attended a dance performance at Jacob’s Pillow, and simply relaxed and enjoyed being together. On the way home we stopped and saw Sarasota friends, Yolanda, Rick and Endera Stevens, who have moved to Connecticut. We spent another week taking our granddaughter to New York City to see the sights. If you would like to read about my time in NYC, find my blog post here. The rest of my summer was spent reading and planning for services in the upcoming year.
As restorative as this time was, it also gave me space to reflect on our congregation and what best serves us as a community. Even as I treasure that time away, I want to name something that I struggle with. It has long been the culture in Sarasota for the minister to take an extended stretch in the summer, and I understand why that tradition took root. But I have come to believe that this stretch is simply too long for this congregation to go without ministerial presence, especially on Sunday mornings when so many of you gather together in community. I say this not to diminish the gift of rest you have given me, but because I believe continuity of pastoral care matters, and I want us to figure out together how to honor both.
Please let me know your thoughts about this. I will also be discussing with the Board how we might ensure that the congregation is not without ministerial leadership for so many consecutive weeks next year. Whether through hiring a second minister or by creating a staggered vacation and study leave schedule, I believe we can find a better balance.
Since I returned to the office, several of you have asked about the status of our 2nd Minister Search. Because we had to wait for the budget to be approved before starting the process, we missed out on the current year cycle of ministers in search. We have received the occasional off-cycle applicant, which we will explore. If none of these off-cycle candidates are appropriate, we expect most applicants to arrive in the next search cycle in December 2026 for an August 2027 start. At the Board's direction, the search committee is also exploring the possibility of hiring a part-time/part-year contract minister to help bridge the gap until we are able to hire a full-time contract minister.
I will be leading forum on Sunday, August 2nd, and will be back in the pulpit on Sunday, August 9th. I hope to see you soon.
with a grateful heart,
Rev. Jay
As restorative as this time was, it also gave me space to reflect on our congregation and what best serves us as a community. Even as I treasure that time away, I want to name something that I struggle with. It has long been the culture in Sarasota for the minister to take an extended stretch in the summer, and I understand why that tradition took root. But I have come to believe that this stretch is simply too long for this congregation to go without ministerial presence, especially on Sunday mornings when so many of you gather together in community. I say this not to diminish the gift of rest you have given me, but because I believe continuity of pastoral care matters, and I want us to figure out together how to honor both.
Please let me know your thoughts about this. I will also be discussing with the Board how we might ensure that the congregation is not without ministerial leadership for so many consecutive weeks next year. Whether through hiring a second minister or by creating a staggered vacation and study leave schedule, I believe we can find a better balance.
Since I returned to the office, several of you have asked about the status of our 2nd Minister Search. Because we had to wait for the budget to be approved before starting the process, we missed out on the current year cycle of ministers in search. We have received the occasional off-cycle applicant, which we will explore. If none of these off-cycle candidates are appropriate, we expect most applicants to arrive in the next search cycle in December 2026 for an August 2027 start. At the Board's direction, the search committee is also exploring the possibility of hiring a part-time/part-year contract minister to help bridge the gap until we are able to hire a full-time contract minister.
I will be leading forum on Sunday, August 2nd, and will be back in the pulpit on Sunday, August 9th. I hope to see you soon.
with a grateful heart,
Rev. Jay
