The RVUUF Board of Directors is pleased and proud to announce that we are calling a Special Meeting of the Congregation for February 16, following the service. This meeting will be for the specific and exclusive purpose of calling Rev. Sean Parker Dennison to be our settled minister. You will receive more information.

RVUUF has now experienced over 5 years of Developmental Ministry, first with Rev. Nan White, and now with Rev. Sean. The Board has understood that we will need to call a settled minister at some point, but it was feedback from the congregation that set us on our current path. Last year, in our Town Hall discussions of issues about what RVUUF should be doing and how we should plan, we frequently received unsolicited comments that we should call Rev. Sean and get him into settled ministry as soon as possible. Much has happened since then, including the call of Rev. Theresa Soto (Rev. Sean’s partner) to a settled ministry in Oakland, CA, and a consultation with the UUA about what we are permitted to do. The advice from the UUA was that the only supported pathway to call a settled minister is to go through a full ministerial search process, which is long, labor-intensive, expensive, and starts by assuming we are without a minister. The UUA indicated that, given that Rev. Sean is already here and known to the congregation, an exception would be allowed for us to hold a special congregational meeting to call Rev. Sean, but that we should be certain before embarking on this path that we have the votes to succeed in the call; if the vote failed, we would find ourselves in a ministerial search process soon after.

For this reason, the Board formed the Discernment Team, whose task it was to talk to as many congregation members as possible to ascertain the level of support for calling Rev. Sean to settled ministry. At its meeting on Tuesday, January 21, the Board received the report from the Discernment Team, which demonstrated a remarkable level of support for calling Rev. Sean. After discussing the report in detail, the Board voted unanimously to call a special meeting for that purpose. We were pleased to be in conversation with Rev. Sean during this decision and we are assured that this is also what Rev. Sean wants.

In summary, then, your Board urges you to attend the Special CONGREGATIONAL Meeting to be held on February 16 for the purpose of calling Rev. Sean to a settled ministry with our congregation. The quorum requirement is high, and calling a minister requires an 85% affirmative vote of those attending. Please plan to attend.

Roger Howe, Board President, on behalf of the RVUUF Board