Matthew’s Memo
Aug 19, 2025
 
It was on August 15, 2008, that I began as your minister.  On April 5^th, 2009, you officially installed me as your Senior Minister in a fun and joyful ceremony.  As I’ve been going through my office, I found the order of service and guest list from that event – back when I still used some paper.  It’s been a delight to remember.  The banner now hanging in the sanctuary was commissioned for that event, and its rainbow colors, chalice, and stars are a joyful artifact from that time. 
 
Sunday, we will release each other from the vows we took then, as I lay down this long and good ministry.  I have been feeling very at peace.  Sad to depart from you, yes – I will miss our conversations, connections, and the work we have done together.  I will miss the poetry and jokes you shared with me, knowing your lives and hearts, and the collaborative work of planning worship and events together.   Yet, it is time.  It feels right – that you will be well, and become who you are to be next.  As will I. 
 
We release the vows we made on that April day because I will no longer be your minister, and you will no longer be my people.  That does not mean we will not be in each other’s hearts, for I will always care for you.  But we will no longer be connected through that covenant.  You will be served by Rev. Joyce and Rev. Bret, and eventually by a new settled Senior Minister as well.  The church has existed since 1841, and many ministers have come and gone.  So it will be. 
 
What does it mean that I will no longer be your minister?  It means that I will be a resource to Rev. Bret and Rev. Joyce if they have questions they can’t otherwise answer (as Rev. Dave was for me), but I will not be in touch with you, the members of the church.  I will not be present, engaged, or active in the life of the church.  I will not show up in the community as your minister, or even as a UU minister at all, so that there is space for the next person.  I will untangle from relationships with church members.  That includes social media, where I will “unfriend” both church folks and community folks. 
 
I know that some of you have taken solace that I’ll “still be in town.”  This is a little bit of the negotiation stage of grief.  Which is OK.  But though you might sometimes see me around, I really will not be your minister anymore.  And I will travel a lot, both for work and to see my beloved who lives a few states away. 
 
Will I ever be back?  Probably, yes, but it will be years.  Eventually, I’ll form a covenant with your new settled minister, and at their invitation, there may be times I reappear.  But it will be a while, and it will not be frequent. 
 
We release each other so that we can move forward.  With gratitude and fondness, I lay down this role so I can fully inhabit the next one.  And you must lay down our relationship going forward so that you can make a good and strong new beginning. 
 
A minister is a person, but we are also a role.  It is a strange thing. The role prescribes and circumscribes our authority, power, and relationship with others.  I do not step out of the role of UU minister. But I do step out of the role of being your minister.  It has been a deep and profound honor, and I am so grateful for these years of common work and for the special and privileged relationship I have had with you.  As we close that chapter, we each take up the next adventure.  I will hold you in love, forever, and I wish you well. 
 
In faith
Matthew

Journey

Dear Friends,
As we stand together as a loving community, saying goodbye to our beloved Matthew, the words of Robert Frost keep playing in my mind. For all of us, Matthew included, we stand at the junction of love and hope, anxiously awaiting our unknowable but beautiful future together. So let the poetry remind us all:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

Matthew, we send you out, not away. We are forever grateful for the journey—past and future.

Blessed is our path,
Wendy Bennett

Layman’s Tour of the Church Siding Replacement Project
 
Our major siding replacement project is two months along, with 3-4 weeks to go. Like every project on your house, once you start repairing one thing, you uncover new problems to fix. Same here. Problems mostly outside the scope of the replacement project. Which, of course, means extra spending. This morning, Dave gave me a “walk around”. Here is what I saw.

1. Good Grief. We are lucky to have our B&G guys. Dave Schubert is there every single morning, oftentimes with Clark, to coordinate with the DPI people. Often working alongside to repair things that might be our responsibility.
2. We made a good choice with DPI. Schubert is fussy. He says he has not worked with contractors as attentive and conscientious as Zack, Dustin, and the others. They don’t just speed past something. They stop to go back, fix it, then do it right, etc.
3. Remember that 20-story condo in Florida? The concrete spalled, salt air got in, corroding the rebar, and the 20-story building collapsed, killing a bunch of people. DPI has spotted the same thing happening to our concrete columns. To a much, much smaller degree. Luckily, the man-lifts are here, and DPI has experience repairing this condition.
4. Potentially saved our minister’s life. Visualize the sanctuary. The wood walls are suspended between the concrete columns. Zack (DPI) was up on the manlift and found a wall section where he could easily push the entire wood wall a couple of inches back and forth. The anchors were either missing or corroded. The wall has now been securely anchored to the concrete column. You could imagine a circumstance where a strong wind might come up on Sunday morning and push that exact wall section in. To fall onto the podium and the minister. That would not be good. Probably disrupt the Sunday service.
5. In one spot, the metal flashing on top was bent, allowing water to leak behind the siding and into the wall. That section of the wooden wall structure and insulation was pretty well rotted out, needing replacement.
6. Probably 27,893 nails. Of course, one of them hit a wire, taking out one of the security cameras.
7. Our 70-year-old wood siding looked old and ragged. So, we are replacing it. Of course, our 70-year-old wood window frames also look old and ragged. Especially next to our shiny new siding.  The windows at the top of the sanctuary are especially bad. With the man-lifts already there, it makes sense that these should be repaired now. The windows in Deale Hall will be a bigger project that will wait for a coming year.

Sacred Reading: An Invitation to Slow, Reflective Spiritual Practice

Wonderful Wednesday

September 3, 6:00 pm

Library

In our fast-paced lives, it’s easy to rush through words without letting them nourish us. Sacred reading—also known as lectio divina or contemplative reading—is a spiritual practice that invites us to slow down, listen deeply, and engage with texts that awaken the heart and spirit. In this session, we’ll explore sacred reading in a Unitarian Universalist context, using selections from poetry, scripture, and wisdom literature.

We’ll experiment with simple methods of reflection and sharing, allowing the text to speak to us and through us. If you like, bring titles of your favorite readings. All are welcome—no prior experience needed.

Unicantors Choir Rehearsal Begins!
Sunday, August 31 at 9:00 am
Sunday, September 7 at 9:00 am

1 in 6 people in America sing in choirs. Singing in groups has been linked to better mental and physical health, a sense of belonging, and feeling connected to others, among many other benefits.

Choir will begin evening rehearsals on Tuesdays, September 9 and 16, at 7:00 pm. 

The choir will rehearse on their regular Thursday night beginning on September 25.

You are invited to join the choir and make something beautiful happen for yourself and the congregation!

Questions, see Tim Anderson, Music Director, or any member of the choir.

Sunday Morning Meditation
1st and 3rd Sundays 
9:15 in the Library

The next session is September 7

We meet to meditate together and center ourselves for the day. Please join us for Sunday Morning Meditation. 

• Our deep roots connect us to a wealth of resources that nourish our growth as a beacon for justice, inclusion, and liberation, especially anti-racism and gender and sexuality justice. 
• Our listening cultivates diverse and multicultural relationships that bridge divisions, strengthen our communities, heal hearts, and foster safety for all. 
• Our awareness of our interdependence inspires us to protect the shared environment and natural world in which we live.

The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL  |   4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107   |   815-398-6322    |   uurockford.org  |