Hello and Season’s Greetings!

I have always loved the way in which the Unitarian Universalist Minister, Rev. Paula Cole Jones, invites us to think of our congregations as a community of communities; that contained within the community that is our congregations, we have many communities.

I am so overjoyed to be joining the community of communities of Tree of Life and of Prairie Circle, to be sharing your ministries with you; as individual people, as individual congregations, and who we can become together.

Thank you for inviting me to serve as your professional minister within each of your congregations, and with what is OUR community of communities.

I want to acknowledge, with gratitude, the conscientious work that has been being done by your search committee, made up of members from both congregations, and your contract committee, also made up of members from both Prairie Circle and Tree of Life. They have represented you well and they have been a joy to work with.  I think in a short time we have already begun communicating very openly, collaboratively, and creatively. 

Thank you so much to Sue McCowin, Scott Helmke, Fran Bates, Joyce DeWitt, Mary Honegger, Leslie Piotrowski, Thad Smith, Trisha Steele, John Young, Kathe Lacey-Anderson, , Andrea Myers, Leah Mikkelson, Irene Raven, and Ivy Sitkoski. This list would not be complete without a  thank you to Janet Burns, who we know our Tree of Life community grieves for so very deeply, and whose generous spirit and presence was made known to us all and was carried on.

And to all of us, as we engage in our shared ministry together, as we build community together:

May we be reminded of our highest aspirations,
may we be inspired to bring our gifts of love and service
to the altar of humanity.

May we know that we are not isolated beings
but connected, in mystery and miracle,

to the universe, to our community, and to each other.

(Singing the Living Tradition, # 434)

Happy Holidays, Happy Holy Days,

And I look forward to being with you in the New Year.

Blessed Be!

Dave

Dave Becker (he, him)

UU Minister, TOL/ PCUUC