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Our Minister
Be sure to check out our Sermons & Services page for descriptions of our upcoming sermons and services.
On the eve of the congregation’s Search Team announcing the name of
their candidate for your next settled minister, I thought I’d take
this opportunity to offer a few comments about professional ministry.
Every now and then I’m asked, “It’s a full time job for you, right? So
what do you do during the week?” More often than not, I’m tempted to
respond, “What don’t I do?”
The question is one most professionals would never be asked, but it’s
an understandable one for ministers. How many other careers are there
in which no one else sees what the scope of what you do? Farmers are
out in the fields each day, but once the crops start growing their
efforts are there for all to see. That’s rarely the case when it comes
to ministry. Worship services are certainly public, but much of the
rest of clergy’s work is not.
Some ministers are in the office all the time during the week. Others
prefer to keep their schedules flexible. I’ve watched colleagues field
complaints from congregants who seldom see them at the office and
assume that they are not working hard. While such congregants may wish
for more access to their clergy, this does not mean they aren’t
working hard, far from it.
I have long chosen to keep office hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Friday. I’ve found that working from home on Thursday lets me get more
studying and writing done as there are generally fewer interruptions
there than at the church office. Other patterns will work better for
other ministers.
One of the things I learned about in seminary (and that I have
struggled with since then) is that in order to stay fresh, to have new
challenging things to offer our congregations, ministers need to stand
with one foot firmly inside the congregation and with other outside
the community we serve. There is truth to this, though it is at odds
with what many expect from their ministers.
What I know for sure is that I would be much less of a minister without the support of many colleagues. Email chats as a forum for collegial support have proven invaluable for me and many, if not most, of my colleagues. Unlike many professions, it’s a rare minister who can walk down the hall, knock on a colleague’s door (or cubical partition) and ask “So, Patty, what do you make of this?”
There are very few “average” days in the ministry. And while each of
these could be flushed out in some detail, I’ll simply offer you a
short list of many of the things we do during the week:
- volunteer support
- administration
- study
- service and sermon preparation
- interfaith / denominational / community activities
- church committee meetings
- pastoral care
- and, once a month, I sit down to write another of these columns
As this goes to press, I do not know whom the Search Team has selected
for your candidate. I don’t know his or her working style, special
interests, strengths, weaknesses. What I can tell you is that they
will give you all they can and then some.
It is perfectly all right to ask your minister what she or he does
with his time. But don’t be surprised if it takes her or him a moment
to answer. We juggle so many things at once, it can be hard to respond
concisely.
in peace,
Eric
First Universalist Orientation Series: UU and U
If you are a newcomer and curious about what Unitarian Universalism is all about, or if you’ve been around for a while and are still wondering the same thing, then UU and U is for you.
This orientation series is run every three months or so. If you have questions or would like information on when the next orientation series will be scheduled, please call Kris in our church office at 546-2826.
The Rev. Eric Meter, the interim minister of First Universalist Church,
comes to us from ten years as the settled minister of
the Unitarian Universalist Church of Livermore,
California.
Prior to studying for the ministry, Eric worked as a Vista volunteer
training tutors in English as a Second Language, and
then as a middle manager for a Cambodian refugee
assistance organization. "It was a better education than
college ever was," he said.
A high point of his time at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Livermore was being there for the planning, fundraising
and dedication of a $750,000 church construction and
renovation project. He also enjoyed going to New Orleans
with youth and adults to help out in the Hurricane
Katrina renovation.
When he decided he needed an interim period of his own to gain
additional perspective, Eric came to our church, First
Universalist of Rochester.
Rev. Meter looks forward to the experience of serving a church in the
Northeast with a such long history and with a
Universalist heritage. His goal as interim minister is
to help the church get ready for the next settled
minister.
For fun, Eric likes folk music, hiking and reading mystery novels. He
especially enjoys a series of Italian mysteries
featuring an Inspector Salvo Montalbano written by
Andrea Camilleri.
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