<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">I hope I’m not in a majority of one, but I am sorry to hear of Kat’s resignation. She has played a big role in my (John’s and my) life for more than 10 years. Reverend Hawbaker has married me once and presided over two celebrations of life. Good luck with the search. My heart isn’t ready for this. Barbara Kidd<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Oct 10, 2024, at 8:54 AM, Ted Goertzel via Fuusm-l <fuusm-l@fuusm.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">With Reverend Hawbaker's resignation, our church may be going through the search process for a new minister. (I say "may" because it isn't clear that our budget will allow us to offer an attractive position.) As we consider this process, I would like to recommend a book,<b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=search+a+novel+by+michelle+huneven&crid=2FHRQL7MLC0HU&sprefix=search+a+novel%2Caps%2C279&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_14">Search: A Novel</a></b> by Michelle Huneven. It is set in a Unitarian Church and describes the human dynamics in the search for a new minister. I know some of the women in the congregation have read it because it was the topic of the UU+ Women's Book Group last month. I recommend it to the men as well. It's only $4.99 in Kindle format and used copies are available. Libraries also have it. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">In the October 2023 Confluence I did a review of a social science book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Preachers-purgatory-reference-ministers-situations/dp/B0007DTP1U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UE1Z7TRBB8V0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9brhmXkMWpwDdcLCmnm8amSwFsif0uG4zicJH8kWHA7zS99EHlJEXWJ2sKs4_5iInbaczexMsUmB31aeVqSbNphUYELOMYVrCzBqPcWvqGM.o4M3-9FqZ174UQakYfufj-vkV1QGdMTzL1xwhkWTMi4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Preachers+in+Purgatory+book&qid=1728563994&sprefix=preachers+in+purgatory+book%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1"><b>Preachers in Purgatory</b></a>, that covers much the same ground with a lot of reports from real UU congregations. It is less entertaining, but I have a copy if anyone would like to borrow it. Also available used on Amazon.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">I'll reprint my review from last year here:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-af67212c-7fff-dffc-343d-65f34c8398ea"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,229,153);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Preachers in Purgatory by Lester Mondale</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,229,153);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">reviewed by Ted Goertzel</span></p><br><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">I bought this book in 2011, but didn’t finish it then because of the writing style which the Kirkus reviewer described as “pontifical.” But this is a Unitarian book, written by a UU minister, published by Beacon, the UU press, and based on reports from over 100 UU churches reporting on crisis situations. The dust jacket is well written: </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">“</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Within the self-defined island of brotherly love, the local church, there smolders a potential for searing personal conflict which is seldom openly admitted—yet which erupts into crisis with a periodicity which approaches the seasonal. The focus of the crisis is a challenge of the minister’s leadership by a segment of the congregation, but its real significance is far more complex—and its solution is seldom achieved by the obvious device of removing the minister</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">As I understand his argument, churches have members with different expectations from a minister. When a minister is new, everybody hopes to get what they want, but with time, some are bound to be disappointed. It’s similar to a president of a country who gets a honeymoon period followed by disillusionment. A faction emerges which pressures the minister to resign. If the minister doesn’t slink away quietly, it goes to the Congregational Meeting where there is a split. Purging the minister doesn’t solve the problem, the cycle just repeats.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">This classic book was published in 1966, but the same problem is described in a best selling 2022 novel, </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Search-Novel-Michelle-Huneven-ebook/dp/B09B8XMWRF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BGM9AGZME5T7&keywords=search+a+novel+by+michelle+huneven&qid=1694613497&sprefix=search+huneven%2Caps%2C815&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Search</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> by Michelle Huneven, set in a Unitarian Church. She focuses on how the conflicts get even worse when the minister leaves and the church has to search for a replacement.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The problem may be even worse in other churches. In </span><a href="https://www.restorativefaith.org/post/departure-why-i-left-the-church" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Departure: Why I Left the Church</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">,” Presbyterian Rev. Alexander Lang, says: “</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">As a pastor, you know you’re not going to be able to please everyone. You know that some people are going to dislike what you do. You expect to bring new people through the door who identify with your preaching, while others will leave who disagree or don’t like your style. But when you see that there is a group of people whose sole goal is to dismantle your career, that is an entirely different beast that no one expects, particularly from people who supposedly label themselves Christians.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-indent:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">If anyone wants to borrow </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Preachers-purgatory-reference-ministers-situations/dp/B0007DTP1U/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12TP7GQYR4ZHI&keywords=preachers+in+purgatory&qid=1695219837&sprefix=preachers+in+purgatory%2Caps%2C450&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Preachers in Purgatory</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">, </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">I have a copy. </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Search-Novel-Michelle-Huneven-ebook/dp/B09B8XMWRF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BGM9AGZME5T7&keywords=search+a+novel+by+michelle+huneven&qid=1694613497&sprefix=search+huneven%2Caps%2C815&sr=8-1" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Search: A Novel </span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> is much more amusing and available on Kindle for $4.99 or $14.99 hardcover, or from the public library. </span><a href="https://www.restorativefaith.org/post/departure-why-i-left-the-church" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">Departure: Why I Left the Church</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">is a free blog post. A related story from </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Christianity Today</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> is </span><a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/november/pastor-burnout-pandemic-barna-consider-leaving-ministry.html" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">The Pastors Aren’t All Right: 38% Consider Leaving the Ministry</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">.</span></p><br></span><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div></div>
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