We had an eventful month at Pacific Unitarian. We had a great anniversary dinner! I loved all the celebrating, dancing, and eating. It was so lovely to come together as a community. We also celebrated the lives of three of our beloveds this month. The memorial services honored the extraordinary lives of Richard Colbary, Richard Peterson, and Victor Paieda. I was amazed by how much these men contributed to Pacific Unitarian and the South Bay. We will continue honoring our lost members with the annual tile dedication on Memorial Day after service.
On Sunday, June 4, Pacific Unitarian will have its annual meeting. One item on the agenda is a proposal to ordain me. What does that mean?
Here is what the UUA says, “Ordination is one of the most important traditions of our faith. A congregation’s decision to ordain someone represents the congregation’s faith in, and support for, the ordinand’s ministry. This recognition of a person’s calling forth is also a recognition of their setting apart, functioning as “a rite of initiation, taking an ordinand from their status as layperson and initiating them into the community of clergy.” In the Unitarian Universalist tradition, the ritual of Ordination also allows the minister to use the title of Reverend.”
If the congregation votes yes, Pacific Unitarian will host an ordination ceremony, with guests from around Southern California and even the United States, sometime in the fall. It is also an excellent excuse for us to have a party! Although I am already a minister in the eyes of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Ordination is the formal religious ceremony done by a congregation to name someone as a minister. Because I will be staying with Pacific Unitarian for two years, as your interim, I would like to be ordained by this congregation.
We are slowly closing the church year here at Pacific Unitarian. I will travel to India for three weeks this summer to meet Div’s family. I will be away from June 20 to July 11. I will also be away on Study Leave, a special time for reading and sermon preparation, for the rest of July. The worship committee has worked hard to plan a series of guest speakers in late June and July. Keep an eye out for guests from both Pacific Unitarian and our community!
Beloved, I hope you are enjoying the return of sunshine and warmer temperature.
Be well,
Chloe
