Desert Notes July 31, 2025
As I return to the desert after being on both off the coast in Baltimore and also along the coastline of Oregon and Washington, I am arriving feeling both more settled and less certain. I’ve always said that it takes three years to make most major life transitions–to live into them and begin to feel a sense of solidity and capacity. I have completed three years with VUU, and I do feel a deeper sense of belonging here as well as a sense of deeper connection to and understanding of VUU and my role as your minister. However, we are still experiencing transitions both in our organization (and in our larger world.)
Our Interim Faith Formation Director, Sara Sautter, returns to her home in Taos, and while we had hoped to be hiring a settled full time faith formation director, we are facing two challenges. One is that our income over the summer dipped (it usually does) leaving monthly bills like payroll more vulnerable than usual. As a result, the VUU board has decided to place a temporary hiring freeze until we are back on track. The second is that our approved budget for this year has the Faith Formation Director position at half time. We have basically shifted from 60 hours of Faith Formation leadership staff (this does not include teaching staff) to 25-28 hours.
The consequence of these two realities, when we have 40+ families and 100+ children being served by youth faith formation, is that my time and tasks will be shifted to carry some of the needs and leadership of the faith formation program for children and youth. We also have been working on developing our adult faith formation offerings. All of this means we have a greater need for volunteers to pick up some tasks. I would love to have many of you sign up to help in some way–we can meet these needs together! This also means that how I spend my time on Sundays and during the week will be shifting. Until we can hire someone to fill the PT position, I will need to make sure our teaching staff and their students (our children and youth!) have what they need. This means planning for and running some staff meetings and trainings, helping volunteers get set up to do their work, and communicating with parents. I am still working on what this will look like, but I think it’s important for you to know what’s happening “behind the scenes.”
August is a time of preparation and planning–I meet with committee and project leaders, plan out our calendar and, yes, I still preach and plan worship! In addition, my own 16 year old begins his junior year of high school, which brings its own set of tasks and responsibilities. Adaptation and patience are the key to all of this! I hope you will lean into and share with me the opportunity to try things in new ways, with new leaders, and learn together. Thanks for being part of this community–I look forward to our shared work, commitment and growth. I know we will find joy, laughter, and rest as well. These are the key ingredients for any successful endeavor.
–Rev. Sarah