Rev. Colin Bossen's Monthly Newsletter Column
The Beacon - May 4, 2012
NOTES FROM OUR MINISTER
Greetings,
Kris Kristofferson's song, popularized by Janis Joplin, "Me and Bobbie McGee" has long been one of my favorites. I particularly like the line "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." It always makes me wonder, just what do we mean when we talk about freedom?
It is certainly one of the most contested words in the English language. People use it to mean vastly different things. It has been used both to oppress and liberate. What do you mean by freedom? Are there limits to freedom? Different kinds of freedom?
Our theme for this month is freedom and we will be exploring what it means to be free in greater depth during our May 20 service. On May 17 Rina and I will be leading the second part of a three part series of workshops on the Doctrine of Discovery. The Doctrine of Discovery might not seem related to the theme of freedom but it is. The doctrine is the Catholic theological doctrine that was used to usurp lands from the indigenous peoples of the Americas from the 15th to the 19th centuries. It still undergirds some of U.S. property law. Our workshop will focus on indigenous understandings of the doctrine. The broader theme will be how religion can be both a force for repression and liberation.
The workshop is in anticipation for a vote to be taken at the congregational meeting to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. The Unitarian Universalist Association will be holding a vote on the same subject at the General Assembly this year and congregations across the country have been asked to study, and consider voting on, the doctrine in advance.
Also during the annual meeting, the congregation will be voting on a new covenant. In our Unitarian Universalist tradition we do not organize religious communities around creeds. Rather, we organize them around covenants, which are the promises we make to each other about how we will live together in community. Covenants give us a great deal of freedom to believe as we must, not as others would have us. Our use of them to organize our communities is one of the reasons why Unitarian Universalist congregations have long been bastions of free thought.
With these important items on the agenda, as well as important issues relating to the congregation's annual budget and interim search, I hope to see you at this year's annual meeting.
love,
Colin
Rev. Colin Bossen - Letter of Resignation
March 20, 2012
Dear Members and Friends of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Cleveland:
I let the Board of Trustees and the Committee on Ministry know this past weekend that I am resigning as your settled minister effective August 31, 2012. I am leaving the Society to begin a PhD program at Harvard University with the Committee on the History of American Civilization in September.
Leaving the Society is not a decision my family and I take lightly. For the last several years Cleveland has been our home. It has been here that Asa has grown from an infant to pre-kindergartner and Emma has grown into a teenager. And it has been in this community that I have grown from a novice to an experienced minister.
Our years together as congregation and minister have been a time of growth for the Society as well. Over the last five years the congregation's membership has increased, pledging has risen, the building has been improved and the Society's reputation in the larger community has grown. Just as importantly, the congregation has grown in health and vibrancy. At a time when the average age of a member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation is 52, the majority of the Society's new members are in their twenties.
These last years of growth suggest that the Society will continue to thrive into the future. Next Sunday Mary Schatzman will discuss how the ministerial transition will unfold. The Rev. Joan Van Becelaere, our District Executive will be working closely with the congregation to make sure that the Society has everything it needs to have successful interim and settlement processes.
Even when a congregation is doing well, ministerial transitions can be difficult and emotional times. Over the coming months we will have time together to acknowledge the difficulty of the transition, celebrate our work together and say goodbye to one another. I will have time to let you know how much this community has meant to me and I will be prepared to listen to whatever you need me to hear. Whether you have frustrations, disappointments, appreciations, celebrations or some mix of all of these please do not hesitate to contact me.
I want you to know that the Society will always have a special place in my heart. My admission to Harvard was partially based on the work and scholarship I have done as your minister. I will be forever grateful for the space and encouragement you gave me to be not just a parish minister but a scholar, activist and public voice for Unitarian Universalism. Over the next decades as I write about religion, social movements and public life my ministry with the Society will continue to influence how I understand the relationship between minister, congregation and larger community.
Thank you for all that you have given and taught me, Sara, Asa and Emma these past years. I have been deeply honored to serve you and I am grateful for the work we have done together.
love,
The Rev. Colin Bossen
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