I am delighted to share that I have arrived in Portland! I am very excited to begin our work together. Here is an early report from my office in our beautiful church grounds.  

I have already had the chance to meet with our staff, our board, and to enjoy Carter Smith’s last Sunday Service with us.  

The staff and I are meeting to imagine and plan a year filled with opportunities for inspiration, connection, justice-making, and service. There will be lots more to share soon, but for now I will let you know that our Annual Spiritual Theme for 2022 – 2023 is “Rooted in Relationship.”  

So many of you shared during candidating week last May how much you appreciated the support and connections offered by the relationship with our church throughout the pandemic. So many also shared that you have missed a sense of connectivity and have longing for relationships to grow in this community. There is a wonderful growing edge to behold in the creative tension that exists between these two contradictory statements (and some of you may feel both ways). I welcome and invite you to join me on a journey to build community together this year and in the years ahead. May our guiding theme, “Rooted in Relationship,” help us to deepen and grow in how we relate to ourselves, to this multigenerational spiritual community, to our families and friends, to our neighbors near and far, and to all beings.  

A note about our schedule: Mark your calendars for our multigenerational Homecoming Service on Sunday, September 11^th at 10:30am – children, youth, and adults of all ages are encouraged to attend in-person and online. It will be our Kick-off! Following the service, you are invited to engage with our social justice team in a letter writing campaign to motivate voters in key districts through “UU the Vote.” 

A note of farewell: I hope you feel proud of the teaching and learning ministry you engaged in with Carter. Ministerial internships first bless a congregation and are then a blessing offered by a congregation as ministers are sent out into the world – to other congregations, to hospitals, to prisons, to college campuses, and other community settings. Carter has shared that she leaves here with her vocation to serve our congregations strengthened. Carter, may the next step in your formation, the chaplaincy rotation, also be a blessing for you this year and for your ministry in the future.  

A note of welcome: I am not the only new person in the building and online. We welcomed our new 2022 – 2023 ministerial intern, Eli Poore, at our staff meeting on Tuesday. You will have another opportunity to teach and to learn and to serve our larger faith with Eli in the year ahead. Welcome Eli! 

I look forward to the chance to getting to know this community and to seeing you on a Sunday or on a weekday soon (in-person or online). If you or your group/committee/taskforce would like to meet with me, you can make an appointment through John Rosette, our Executive Team Assistant. Here is the contact info: https://www.firstunitarianportland.org/staff/john-rosette/ 

In faith, 

Rev. Alison