I’m in a small minority having been brought up Unitarian Universalist. As a child, my family attended a small growing fellowship. Later, as a young adult I was a very involved lay leader in a large congregation before attending seminary, answering my “call” to ministry. My joy in being involved in church included teaching and … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – Why I Do Church and Other Life-Affirming Choices

What do I imagine for the year ahead? What do I wish for our community? I ask for you to make worship a priority, as worship is the main place for our coming together as a community. I ask for you to find spiritual practices that make your heart happy, whether it is to take … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – January 2013

I’ve always been a fan of Christmas, the many secular bits as well as the more religious parts. In my house, we’ve not only got the originally Victorian inspired Christmas tree with its roots in American Unitarian history, but a menorah lit for Hanukkah, and more than one cultural style of nativity crèche. Traditional holidays … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – Merry, Merry Everything Good

Settling in. As the seasons change, and we tend to move indoors, we’re also adjusting to new ministry team members. I’m enjoying doing this good work with Darcy and with Roy, and I’m hoping you are finding time to get to know them, too. I’m hoping you’ve been able to make time to read their … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – Tapestry of Faith

One of the goals I’ve created for myself this church year is to keep the creativity that was inspired by my sabbatical time in clear view. I want to remember the joy, the beauty, the gifts, that were gathered up and rediscovered there. For the most part, I’ve realized I just don’t have time to … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – Ministry is Creative

If the world is, as the poet said, a ‘vale of soul-making,’ then perhaps the soul is a vale of world-making. Soul: the blue fire: the fire-roots: the roots of the gods: the gods of the hidden forces: the forces behind the world: the world of soul. –writer Phil Cousineau I have a wise colleague … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – Soul-Making

Dear Ones, I’m on vacation now. After all, it is late July/early August and it’s the quietest time of the year in church life. Even though the congregation is much more active in the summer months than in the generations past, still the church calendar is not so chock full of events as during the … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – I See Great Things in Baseball

Where I live, there is no patch of green grass to lie in and look up at the sky. But that’s not the only thing that makes for a great summer day, right? Maybe it’s just an extended sense of the day, the time to enjoy your evening meal on the patio. Or there are … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – To See the Summer Sky

As I write, it’s graduation day for some dear folks I know. Tomorrow there are others who graduate, and in the weeks to come, still more commencements from high school, college and more. I’ll be hanging around the “graduation” section of the Hallmark rack, and considering the milestones and accomplishments of loved ones and acquaintances … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – ‘Round Me Close

May your life preach more loudly than your lips. –William Ellery Channing It takes the actual encounter of sabbatical to truly understand the need for one. It took me a good two or three weeks to slow down enough to be able to see what was going on around me. And now, upon return to … Continue reading Katie’s Bay View – Return Again