A letter to my congregation

This letter was mailed to my congregation on Saturday, Aug. 13, and should arrive in their mailboxes today:

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island
20103 Highway 525, P.O. Box 1076, Freeland, WA 98249 •
(360) 321-8656
August 9, 2011

My dear Whidbey friends,

We are beginning our ninth year of ministry together and I am looking forward to it with great anticipation. We have a strong leadership team, a growing, vital membership, outstanding adult and children's programming, incredible talent in many areas, and a beautiful facility to share with our community. It will be a wonderful year, I predict, and I am excited about it.

UUCWI has become a strong and growing congregation. That enables me to decide that it is a good time for me to end my ministry with you. I plan to retire from the active UU ministry on June 30, 2012, and will be moving to a new home in Astoria, Oregon, next summer, where I am looking forward to starting a new phase of my life. I have experienced some of the very happiest years of my life here on Whidbey Island and I will miss you all very much when I move away. But the future for you and for me looks bright and promising.

We have accomplished a lot together and you have many more achievements and outreach projects ahead of you. Your service to the Whidbey Island community will grow and prosper and you will find a new minister who will help you fulfill new dreams, new ideals, new ways to serve each other and the larger community.

During the coming months, our board of trustees will work with our Pacific Northwest UU district staff to make decisions about finding a new minister and will keep you the congregation in the loop during this process. Your thoughts and involvement will be crucial to the process of finding just the right person to serve you in the future.

I'm looking forward to this last year together and expect that we will continue our work together this year in exciting ways. Just imagine the possibilities!

Much love,

Kit