Dear St. John’s community,

This month began with our new ministry kickoff with the Sunday Service focused on shared ministry. On Sunday, November 8th, the service was about how all of our UU congregations create our own covenant, we read St. John’s covenant which was adopted in May, and we welcomed two new members to our religious community. Hooray!

I think about the concept of covenant all the time. To me being “in covenant” means I live in integrity in terms of the agreements I’ve made as an individual and as your minister. Ministers are in a weird role where we interact with the people we serve on a regular basis. Ministers are in relationship with the congregation as a whole, we are friendly, and yet we are not friends. As someone who takes the vocation of ministry seriously (and also holds the congregation lightly because it belongs to you!), I try hard to think to myself before having a conversation, writing an email, giving a sermon, interacting in any way: how will this communication add to the health of the congregation?

St. John’s covenant is made up of a list of bullet points under radical welcome, love and generosity, and repair which are all important. I believe that if you are ever feeling overwhelmed with the length of the covenant itself, just think about congregational health. You could use the three section headers as lenses to reflect on your communication or behavior: Does it contribute to radical welcome? Will it make people feel loved? Will it contribute to a loving community? Will this thing I want to say or do repair a relationship? Is there anyone I need to reach out to in order to acknowledge hurt and ask for forgiveness?

We all, every single one of us, have a role to play in living into the covenant adopted in May. Our covenants are aspirational, they represent the people we want to be. It is a form of practice: the more we practice and reflect, the more it becomes second nature.

I am very proud of St. John’s and all the work that went into creating the covenant and I’m excited to see how it will continue to be implemented throughout the community.

Yours in community,

Rev Karen