On Sunday, April 28, 2024, 122 ORUUC members showed up for worship and the in-person vote that followed to call Lóre Stevens to serve as the next minister of our congregation. Lóre was ordained at First UU Nashville on May 18, 2024. Rev. Chris Buice of Tennessee Valley UU Church in Knoxville preached. Unitarian Universalist ministers must be both fellowshipped by the Unitarian Universalist Association and ordained by a congregation. This is the culminating ceremony which honors the work and support that goes in to creating a UU minister. Lóre Stevens is a member of First UU Nashville and was previously FUUN's Membership Coordinator. FUUN sponsored Lóre's aspirant status as she began her journey towards ministry. In UUism, ordinations are not done by a bishop, but by a congregation. FUUN ordained Lóre and both parties are honored by their connectedness. Lóre currently serves as the contract minister of Foothills UU Fellowship in Maryville. ORUUC welcomes Lóre Stevens as our next settled minister beginning July 17!

ORUUC is excited to welcome Ministerial Candidate Lore Stevens this month! Check out the announcement and more information on Candidating Week by visiting https://www.oruuc.org/ministerialcandidate.

Your ORUUC Ministerial Search Team is pleased to announce something big….on April 7, 2024! With your diligent support to our faithful service, we have made a mutual selection with our new ministerial candidate. This means that in a sea of prospective searchers and “searchees,” we managed to find each other. Please plan to attend church in person or online on April 7 for this important announcement, and stay tuned for more!

A message from Rev. Lisa (originally published in the March 29, 2024 Exponent):

It seems amazing that it was nearly two years ago that I began my happy interim service at ORUUC. The church was still processing the ending of two valued, long-term ministries, and yet you had energy to welcome me and start a fresh chapter. And now, as we draw this shared liminal (in-between) time to a close, I’m so happy for the new beginning that you’re just about to embark on.

As I began in August 2022, I asked you to not just look ahead to the new settled minister you hoped for, but to “pay attention to the journey.” I believe you’ve really taken that to heart, and I’m so honored you let me be a companion on this journey of transition.

As you prepare for your soon-to-be-scheduled candidating week (squeeeee, doesn’t it just make your heart sing with joy to anticipate it?) you might reflect on some questions we started with at the beginning of the transition process. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, there are only YOUR authentic answer to questions like, “what was your most moving moment here at ORUUC? When have you felt most deeply connected?” And, an important one: “What is it like when things are at their best at ORUUC?”

Take some time in the coming week to ponder and reflect on these. Maybe discuss with a few friends. However you do it, you’ll be taking such important steps along this continuing journey of transition. And as you prepare to meet your candidate, remember the words of William Bridges: It isn’t the events that make a period of your life transitional. It is the deeper inner shifts ... the inner turnings that you may not even recognize until you can look back and see ... that point [when] your footsteps curved off in a new direction.

Enjoy the journey, ORUUC! I’m honored to have shared this part of the road with you. ~Rev. Lisa

Congregational Meeting
June 11, 2023
Ministerial Search Committee Elected

After several months of conversations between Nominating Committee and Board members, who called, emailed, and reached out to every member of ORUUC to obtain recommendations, these seven nominees were selected, agreed to serve, and were voted on by ORUUC members at the June Congregational Meeting.

Introducing ORUUC’s Ministerial Search Committee: Sarah Gunter, Dave Dunkirk, Carol Beene, Beth Meyer, Michael Bjerke, Patton Fishel, and Christy White.

Interim Minister Announcement
May 31, 2022

Dear ORUUCians,

On behalf of your Board of Trustees and the Interim Search Committee, it is our pleasure to announce that, after a thoughtful and thorough process, we will have a contract signed this week with the Reverend Lisa Schwartz to serve as our Interim Minister, starting on August 1.

The Unitarian Universalist Association has an established practice for facilitating a match between an Interim Minister and a Congregation. Since July, the Board has been in communication with the UUA; earlier this spring, we submitted our Congregational Profile (information about us) to prospective Interim Ministers. From that Profile, Our Board-appointed Search Committee interviewed four candidates who selected ORUUC in the UUA's matching system. After interviewing these four candidates and discussing them with the whole Board, we communicated our preferences to the UUA. The whole process went smoothly, just as designed. We believe we are very well-matched with Rev. Schwartz, who will take up this important Interim Ministry with us.

You're probably interested to learn more about Rev. Schwartz. Rev. Schwartz is an accredited Interim Minister and has most recently served for 2 years as the Interim Minister for the UU Fellowship of Athens. Prior to that, Reverend Schwartz was Minister at UU Fellowship of Winston-Salem and at the UU Fellowship of Topeka. In the interview, we were especially struck by Rev. Schwartz's commitment to and knowledge of the Interim process, study of and experience in congregational leadership development, and obvious love and enthusiasm for her work. Rev. Schwartz was especially interested in ORUUC because of its reputation as an outstanding congregation, and like many of us, Rev. Schwartz looks forward to being within a convenient drive to family and loved ones, including a granddaughter. Rev. Schwartz has a website (https://lisaromantumschwartz.com/), where you can learn more about her. We will also post information about Rev. Schwartz on the ORUUC website.

Until June 30, we'll continue to say goodbye to Jake and Tandy, our long-time ministers. Please don't contact Rev. Schwartz, for now. There will be plenty of time for that when they arrive on August 1. But you can rest assured that Rev. Schwartz will be happy to get to know us as individuals and as a congregation, in August.

Many thanks to the Board and the Interim Search Committee that worked hard to successfully complete this part of the transition process. Our church is in good hands, and we are moving forward together, as one.

In Blessed Community,
Jim Nutaro, Michele Thornton, Val Herd
ORUUC President's Council

UPDATE FROM THE BOARD
March 2022

In March, the Board met with Christine Purcell, who serves the UUA as its Transitions Program Manager. In the month of April, the Board will submit our congregational profile to the UUA. The information in this profile will be used by the UUA to match us with a set of ministers seeking a transition ministry and that are a good fit for ORUUC. With this list in hand and with the assistance of the UUA, the Board will engage in interviews and discussions with our candidates and then, sometime in May, make final selections and extend an offer. Once our search process with the UAA has gotten underway, we will host an informational meeting for the congregation to keep you abreast of the process. Thank you. Jim Nutaro, Board President

Jake and Tandy’s Final Year with ORUUC
May 30, 2021-June 30, 2022

On May 30, 2021, Lead Minister, Rev. Jake Morrill, and Minister of Care and Connection, Rev. Tandy Scheffler, announced to ORUUC that, thirteen months later—on June 30, 2022—they would both step down from their ORUUC roles. At that point, Jake will have been with ORUUC for 19 years and Tandy will have been with ORUUC for 25 years.

Taking a year to part mindfully will allow us all to do important emotional, relational, and spiritual work. It will also let us do important institutional work to prepare for the transition. A lot remains to be figured out. For now, this page is to give some information to help people understand what’s happening, and what to expect.

Frequently Asked Questions

• When will Jake and Tandy end ministry with ORUUC? June 30, 2022.

• Why is Tandy ending ministry? To retire. In Spring 2020, she planned to retire in June 2021, but agreed to stay for two years at half-time. June 2022 will complete those two years.

• Why is Jake ending ministry? Personally, to have a life with more solitude--time to write, think, walk, and enjoy life with Molly and the boys. Professionally, to try full-time leadership coaching and organizational coaching. He says, "I can't imagine a better relationship with a congregation than what I've had with ORUUC. I'm grateful. But it's time. I'll be 50 next year. I don't want to wake up and find out I'm 60 years old without having gone on some new adventures." With Tandy's retirement, society coming out of the pandemic, and a new generation rising into leadership at ORUUC, the congregation is ready to write its next chapter. Jake thought the best way to support that new chapter was to get out of the way, so new energy could come in.

• Was there a conflict or a scandal? No. Jake and Tandy have always wanted to end well, which means going out while ORUUC is strong and not hanging on until ORUUC-ians want to chase them away! Jake and Tandy are proud of ORUUC and grateful for the opportuinty to have served such a powerful community.

• What if I'm angry or glad that they're going? That's ok. You have a right to your feelings. Grief includes pain, anger, bargaining, shock/denial, acceptance, and hope. You may feel a mix of these things. An old clergy adage says, "When it's time to go, a third of the congregation will be very sad; a third of the congregation will be glad; and a third of the congregation won't feel too strongly, either way." So, different people feeling different things at different times is all normal and ok.

• Will we get to see them again? Both Jake and Tandy intend to live in Oak Ridge for years to come; ORUUC-ians will likely see them at the grocery store, at school events, etc. But, to support ORUUC's health and the relationship with a new minister, ministerial ethics encourage Tandy and Jake to actually leave the congregation--to not engage in church activities or communications, so the next ministers have a chance to earn trust and build relationship with the congregation.

• What about Jake and Tandy’s family members—Molly, Gus, Juno, Jinx, and Peter? ORUUC is their congregation and each of them will make their own decision. Gus loves the youth group, for instance, and looks forward to Bridging in May 2023.

• What now? Between now and June 30, 2022, ORUUC, Tandy, and Jake will work toward having a "good goodbye," which means being intentional about celebrating all we've been and done together, grieving the losses, and each of them--Jake, Tandy, and ORUUC--separately planning for their futures.