New Minister for August 2021. Rev. Cynthia to Retire July 2021

Come August 2021, Greater Nashville will most likely be welcoming a new minister to our pulpit. Rev. Cynthia met with the Board and let us know that she'd like to retire in July of this year to make way for a new cycle of ministry. A post-pandemic cycle of ministry.

Rev. Cynthia will forever be known as the minister who saw us through the COVID Pandemic. Who learned Zoom. Who figured out how to do pastoral care while staring at a webcam.

As Greater Nashville looks toward the possibility of hybrid onsite and online worship, toward the gradual return to our beloved park and church, we will also be welcoming a new minister for our post-pandemic life.

To help in this process, we have excellent partners at the Transitions Office at the UUA. They are the team that facilitates the matching of UU congregations and UU ministers. They know who all the UU ministers are, where they are, and who's looking for work. They know who all the congregations are, what their ministerial history is, and the hard work of maturation they have done.

Over the course of the past 10 to 15 years, we've worked with them 3 times to bring a UU minister to our congregation. They hold our congregation in high regard. They are saddened by Rev. Cynthia's retirement, but excited to help us find a new ministerial partner for our post-pandemic rebirth.

The process of finding a minister will be more flexible this time, we won't be working on the same rigid schedule as the last search process. Similar to the last search process, the Board will still consult with the congregation to create a Search Committee to work with the Transitions Office to handle candidate interviews and ultimately recommend a candidate to the Board.

For now, the Board will be making the official decision about hiring a minister. Interestingly though, the UUA allows congregations in our position to start with a minister in a part time position, and then, should finances allow in the future, to call that same minister as a full-time settled minister. If something like that were to happen, that would be a decision for the whole congregation to make at a congregational meeting.

If you have any questions or advice for the Board in this early planning phase, please email us at board@gnuuc.org. The Board looks forward to more announcements as plans solidify and to gathering more feedback about congregational hopes and needs.