Dear ones-

How grateful and excited we are to be taking our first sabbatical after a combined 23 years of ministry. We are your ministers not just when we are “at work” at USH but each day and each week—we hold you in our hearts, ruminate on sermons and strategic planning, and are on-call as needed. This holding that ministry asks of us is sacred, special and…tiring, which is why sabbatical is so important for our renewal and sustainability.

And this Sunday (Sept 29), we will bid you adieu until January. For the month of October we have few plans—we look forward to simply living life and being together as a married couple and parents without the added layer of co-ministry. In November, we are going on a Big Trip as a family—first to Quezon City in the Philippines to visit our dear friend Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons and family as well as visit UU communities in the Philippines. Then we travel to Delhi, India and  to visit large Unitarian communities in the Khasi Hills. In December, RevHeather will be working full time with the UU Congregation in Danbury and RevCathy will have the strange experience of being a minister not working in December. We know not what stories, experiences and learnings we will bring back to you in January but we are sure there will be many.

We are grateful to the Sabbatical Team (Marye Gail Harrison, Chair; Lisa Galinski, Laurie Kelliher, and Peter Meny) for all their work to ensure rich worship and steadiness in our absence.  If you haven’t already seen the Sabbatical Brochure, please do take a look! You can also pick up a hard copy at the Meeting House.

We wish you a positive and spiritually-rich time while we are away.

In faith and love,

Revs. Heather and Cathy