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Good Morning, my name is Paul
Bognar, and I am humbled and honoured to be a member of your
Ministerial Search Committee. Many people have asked me lately ‘how
is the search going?” and I will answer that question for you in
just a minute. But first let me tell you a little about my own
search.
Raised a Roman Catholic, I was for many years “unchurched.” I began
attending the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton some 11 years ago,
as that congregation was in the final stages of a ministerial
search. Compared to my Catholic background, the Unitarian approach
to calling a minister was nothing less than revolutionary: I was
captivated by the idea of a faith that would, first, grant the
authority to the people of a congregation, and then expend such an
effort to find just the right minister for each congregation.
Hamilton called a bright, talented minister who many of you know as
a former member of this Congregation: Allison Barrett. I remember
the anticipation in Hamilton, as we began a new ministry together,
the excitement was almost palpable, and the first couple of years
were dynamic, culminating in a new building. I was, you could say,
from that point, hooked on UUism.
In 1998 I came to this congregation as you began the relationship
with your first Director of Lifespan Religious Education, Diane
Bosman. As her partner, I found things to do here, apart from being
the “DLRE’s wife”: I led Coming of Age classes several times, I led
and coached Living in Spirit groups, attended and then organized
annual Men’s Retreats, and a number of other things. Living with a
paid staff member gave me insight into some of the more intimate and
intricate workings of this congregation.
And now, now that our past ministers fade from the “current events”
to the “history” of this congregation, and Diane no longer brings
home talk of happenings and issues of First, what role would I play
here, what would I do? Initially I thought I’d like to take a year
or so, and just be ‘a guy who comes to church.’ No committees, no
teaching, just Sunday services.
But when the Nominating Committee put out a call for applicants for
the Search Committee, I began to think about it. I have some
experience: I worked in human resources, including interviewing and
recruitment. Because of my unique position in this Congregation,
(that is, as the partner of a staff member) I very often have had a
close, personal, (and frequently behind the scenes) look at the
lives, joys, hopes and struggles of church ministers and staff. But
mostly, I thought that the search for a new settled minister would
be the most important work that one could do for this congregation.
The more I thought about it, the more certain I became that if my
insights and experience could be of use, then I would be willing to
dedicate myself to this work.
At First Unitarian, there are three things that a testimony should
address:
1) What brought you here?
2) What keeps you coming back?
3) What is your growing edge?
Now you know what brought me here (Diane), and you know what’s
keeping me here (ministerial search), so what’s my growing edge?
It’s three things, all of which I can attribute to my participation
in this search:
1) a growing sense of who we are, and what this religious community
is. With all our warts and flaws, our loving hearts and dedication
to this place, the diversity, and our all too human relationships,
some good, some difficult, but a richness that’s impossible to
ignore.
2) It’s an increasing awareness of our place in the UU movement. One
of the Search Committee members, Helen Iacovino, talks about the
“thousand other UU congregations out there” where people volunteer
to pour coffee on Sunday, sit on boards and committees, attend small
group meetings, and struggle with church finances. From references
we have phoned, newsletters we have seen, we know we are not alone,
in our day to day struggles, whether theological or in matters of
social justice, and we are not alone in our successes in the larger
world. And this leads me to my third growing edge:
3) My sense of anticipation, excitement, and yes, even hope for this
congregation is growing, daily. This place is going to look very
different in a couple of years, and I for one, am very excited. I
think it’s safe to say that the other six members of the committee
are also keyed up.
So, how is the search going? I think it’s going very well. We have
been hard at work, putting in many hours creating and tabulating
surveys, attending meetings, creating packets, reading and listening
to sermons and rites of passage, more meetings, phone interviews,
reference checks, …still more meetings, and much planning.
And now, we are about to embark on a series of in-person interviews
with our short list of candidates. Any of these ministers would be
wonderful ministers for this congregation. As our chair, Catherine
Schuler puts it: our task now is to discern the truly excellent from
the merely excellent. We anticipate presenting a candidate to you
sometime in mid to late April.
This task is far from complete, there is much work for this
committee yet to do. And I want you to know, this is a labour of
love, to which all members of the committee are deeply dedicated.
It is, for me, a significant part of my own spiritual growth, and I
am grateful for it.
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