Covenant between the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach
and
Rev. Dr. Maureen
Killoran, Interim Minister
President:
The relationship between a congregation and its minister is
based on a covenant of mutual commitment. As we prepare for the next
chapter of our congregational life, we welcome into our community the
Rev. Dr. Maureen Killoran, who comes to us to serve as interim
minister. I invite you to rise in body or spirit, as together we make
the promises that will shape our relationship of shared ministry.
Congregation:
We welcome you, Reverend Maureen, as our interim minister
during this time of transition. Mindful of our free religious
heritage, and of the history and promise of this congregation, we look
to you for moral leadership, religious insight, learned wisdom, and
spiritual guidance for this period of time. Will you walk with us in
the paths of health, wholeness and service to the best of your
ability?
Rev. Maureen:
I will.
Congregation:
Will you help us make this interim period a time of deepening
self-knowledge and commitment, that we may be ready to enter into a
mutually nourishing covenant with our next called Minister?
Rev. Maureen:
I will. In this time of transition, my task is to help you
prepare for your next chapter of called ministry. I commit to
focusing on your strengths as individuals and as a congregation. I
promise also to be truthful and open, sharing my understandings with
respect and love. I promise to listen deeply to your truths, to learn
from your wisdom, and to be open to the transformational power of
genuine dialogue.
Will you commit also to this way of being in relationship?
Congregation:
We will. We pledge to remain in honest and open communication
with you. When we disagree with you – as no doubt we will -- we
promise to do so clearly and directly, treating you ethically and with
the same respect with which we want to be treated ourselves.
Rev. Maureen:
As your Interim Minister, I ask that you remember I am not
Gail, nor am I called to fill her shoes. Each minister brings
different gifts and strengths, and over time, they weave richness into
the tapestry of congregational life. As we begin this transition
period, I acknowledge that familiar patterns are important to you,
and, in turn, ask you to be open to the gifts and possibilities of the
new.
I come ready to celebrate your gifts, to affirm your strengths
and to encourage your finest character. I will work and play with
you, laugh and probably cry. I promise to bring my skills and
resources, to be fully engaged, and then, when our work is through, to
leave so that your next chapter of shared ministry may begin.
Will you meet me in this partnership?
Congregation:
We will. We will do our best to value your strengths and not
expect you to be someone other than who you are. We honor your need
for regular rest and renewal if you are to serve us well. Believing
that the ministry of UUFVB is the work of us all, we pledge to bring
our gifts and strengths to this partnership, to share our resources,
and to work with you for the good of the congregation during this
Interim period.
President:
By these spoken words of covenant, our relationship is sealed.
In these words, our shared work is begun.
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