First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh

  605 Morewood Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2999
  412-621-8008

FROM OUR MINISTER, Reverend David Herndon

October 2008

For several reasons, this is an anxious autumn. First, the Presidential election is unusually significant this year, generating many promising hopes and many threatening fears within many people. Second, the national economy continues to struggle, and the challenge has become more acute as the sub-prime mortgage crisis has caused the collapse of several major Wall Street businesses, not to mention some degree of financial loss for many people. Third, the recent international conflict between Russian and Georgia brings up uneasy memories of the Cold War for many people. And the list goes on.

For our religious community, the prospect of calling an Associate Minister who will be a person of color may generate some degree of anxiety as well. We may be asking ourselves questions such as these: How will we cover the cost of this staff position in the short term? Will growth in membership be sufficient for us to cover the cost of this staff position in the long term? How will the church change over the next few years as we navigate the size transition from mid-size to large? How will the church change as a result of the presence of a having a second minister who is a person of color?

Since it may not be realistic to expect that we can totally eliminate anxiety from our lives, we may need to focus instead on recognizing and managing those anxious feelings so that they do not interfere with productive, healthy, affirmative living. Talking with others, taking constructive action, putting a little extra effort into taking care of one’s home base, reducing one’s exposure to the daily news for a while, maintaining one’s physical well-being—all of these can strengthen one’s ability to set anxiety aside and live well. Within our religious community, we may want to treat one another with a little more patience and understanding this coming year as we prepare for some major changes in our shared congregational life.

Focusing on what is positive can also help. With regard to First Unitarian Church, I am confident that the presence of an Associate Minister who is a person of color will provide us with many positive opportunities to become an even stronger, more vigorous religious community. I am also confident that with a little extra generosity from many people, we will find a way to maintain a balanced budget in the foreseeable future, even with the extra costs of having a second minister on our staff.

Hope and affirmation and encouragement conveyed through beautiful music and earnest words and welcoming faces also counteract anxiety, and this is of course what we offer to one another on Sunday mornings. So: See you in church!

David

If you are not currently on our email distribution list to receive occasional email notices about church events, please send your email address to David Herndon at dherndon@first-unitarian-pgh.org.