Desert Notes May 15, 2025
Safety/Security CERT Training:
Safety/Security Training at VUU: Tuesday May 20 1-3; Please RSVP to Rev. Sarah. This is a preliminary training, and will be followed by more opportunities. If you serve in a leadership role and are available, please join us.
—Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan
If you are new to VUU or Unitarian Universalism, you may be used to clergy who never get a Sunday off and have very little leave time. Our denomination recognizes the importance of clergy rest and renewal, and our standard clergy contract includes one Sunday off a month for all religious professionals (not just clergy) and 8 weeks of vacation and study leave (four of each). In addition, we get one month of sabbatical leave per year of service that we can use after 3 years service. It’s recommended that we use our sabbatical before serving six years to avoid burnout and to make sure the time away isn’t too much of a burden. This is paid leave.
I usually spend four of my eight weeks with my family during the year–fall break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break. Then the other four are spent after I attend the UUMA ministry days and UUA general assembly in June. This means I am out of the pulpit in the summer for part of June and most of July. Lay leaders and guest speakers are arranged for these Sundays. Starting in January 2026, I will take 2 months of sabbatical this year as well. In my 11 years of ministry, I have not been able to take sabbatical leave due to moving to new locations and serving as an interim minister. I am so excited to finally get this special time, and hope to travel to Costa Rica to see my daughter. I haven’t planned it all yet! I am putting together a sabbatical team to help plan for this time away.
This is why we call this a shared ministry–it is never my work alone nor the work of the lay leaders alone. We work together to make VUU the best we can make it–and it takes all of us. I am looking forward to time away and also to returning with new energy. If you need to see me before I head out, please contact me so we can get our calendars lined up! In addition, I am planning the calendar for next year. Please send me dates you are looking at for events and activities in the 25-26 program year!
–Rev. Sarah