Our congregation is a teaching congregation. Over time, we have served the wider Unitarian Universalist Association by accepting and mentoring intern ministers who are in the process of formation as religious professionals. Occasionally, we are blessed to be able to ordain someone who has served us as an intern, especially when they have continued in service as an Assistant Minister for a period of time. All of you are invited to the joyous occasion we are anticipating with great excitement – the Ordination of Danielle Garrett into the Unitarian Universalist Ministry on Saturday, June 7, at 2 p.m. in our Main Sanctuary (and online). For more details, visit the event page here.

In our religious tradition, ministers are not ordained by bishops or even other clergy. We do not believe in apostolic succession. Instead, it is a sacred rite and right of the laity – that’s YOU – the lay members of the congregation to confer ordination upon someone. Ministers go through a lengthy process of formation, which includes: 

• gaining the endorsement of a congregation to begin the process,
• attending graduate school to gain a Masters of Divinity (a three-year full-time program),
• fulfilling a clinical pastoral education unit (a chaplaincy rotation), 
• self-reflection and discernment as to the direction of one’s ministry, 
• fulfilling an internship in a congregation (one-year full time or two years part-time),
• and passing the written and oral examination of the UUA’s Ministerial Fellowship Committee. 

However, none of the above confers the status of a minister upon an individual. The locus of power in our religious tradition resides in each congregation – this is known as congregational polity. Each congregation is autonomous, and we are also in a voluntary covenantal relationship with every other congregation who is a part of the wider Unitarian Universalist Association.

It is with great care that our congregation takes on the mantle of supporting, equipping, and mentoring individuals who feel called to the ministry. We, of course, also receive support, equipping, and mentoring from our interns. It is a relationship that hopefully leads to mutual flourishing. That is certainly the case with us and Danielle Garrett! So, much so, that looking ahead to the year we are in, we recognized we would love to invite her to stay for a second year as our Assistant Minister, especially since our Associate Minister, Rev. Tom Disrud, would be on sabbatical (he’ll be back on May 4) and our Social Justice Director, Dana Buhl, would be on sabbatical (she’ll be back on June 10). The UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee gave us a special dispensation to invite Danielle to serve for one year, which we happily did.

We are fortunate to have had Danielle with us for a second year, which also means we have the privilege of ordaining her this year. Our board of trustees voted unanimously to ordain Danielle, and now the job is yours to realize that hope. In a service of ordination, the lay members are recognizing all the training that an ordinand has received as well as their gifts of leadership and service. Clergy are not called from on high, but rather from among the people who set that person apart for a special role – that of minister in our community and the wider community of Unitarian Universalism. The new status, which is recognized by the title Reverend, goes with you to the next place you serve. You are only ordained once by one congregation.

Danielle might be installed by more than one congregation in her future, which is another special service where a minister is called into a covenantal relationship with a particular congregation as their settled minister. However, we will have the blessing of always being the community that ordained her. One symbol of this will be the stole that she receives in the ordination ceremony from our community to celebrate our relationship to her ministry. She will carry that piece of us with her as she moves forward to make a difference in the world.

By the way, we now know where she will be moving to next. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, Massachusetts has offered Danielle to serve as their minister, and she has said Yes. This is a congregation that has existed for nearly 400 years – may they offer her resilient, inspiring, and dedicated partners for shared ministry. 

So, please mark your calendars! And join us on June 7 at 2 p.m. to celebrate Danielle’s ordination with area ministers, invited guests, with the staff, with Danielle’s family, with our Ministerial Internship Committee, and with fellow members. Remember, we couldn’t do it without you!

Finally, let’s all extend deep gratitude to the Ministerial Internship Committee – the lay leaders who served as Danielle’s designated lay mentors and companions throughout the internship. The members of this committee are Michael Murray (chair), Christa Copeland, Dave Kovich, Maxine Lathrop, Jean Omelchuck, Steven Storla, and Jerrad Bracamante.


In faith,

Rev. Alison