By Lisa Schilansky, Minister for Justice and Pastoral Care

I am delighted to have returned to UUCWC on March 30th, now as your Minister for Justice and Pastoral Care. This is a unique path we are on, as most congregations do not interact with their Intern Ministers. With that in mind, I wanted to give you a sense of how this new role will look at UUCWC and how it will differ from my internship.

As an intern, I was an “expert generalist,” meaning I intentionally had my hands in most aspects of church life and was learning to one day be a solo minister of my own congregation. As your Minister for Justice and Pastoral Care, my main goal is to serve in this shared ministry, not to further my education. In this new role, I will work closely with the Caring Team and all of the different ministries that are a part of the Council for Faith in Action (our social justice umbrella group). I will be working with Rev. Kim to support you all as pastoral needs arise, and I will be on the front lines at protests and council/board hearings, helping be a voice for Unitarian Universalism in these trying times.

I will also lead Vespers services on the third Wednesday of each month (with a summer hiatus). Like the internship, I will be present on most Sundays and preaching once a month. Most importantly, my total hours are the same as the internship. So, while there is a big step up to being your Minister for Justice and Pastoral Care, you will not see me more than during the internship. 

I am excited about how our shared ministry will look over these next fifteen months. This is an incredible community, and I am delighted to serve you once again. May you find groundedness and joy in this difficult season and know that this community is here to support you no matter the changing tide.