The IM Search Committee, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, is delighted to report that FUUSN has a new Interim Minister, the Rev. Parisa Parsa, who will be joining us on August 1.
We believe Rev. Parisa has just the right set of skills and experience we need in an Interim Minister, based on priorities identified by the Board (set forth in prior updates and repeated below*). Rev. Parisa was a settled minister in Milton for 10 years, then moved into UUA governance and teaching before moving to the nonprofit world, leading two organizations that have been focused on diversity, inclusion, conflict resolution and community building. She says it best herself:
My call to ministry came 25 years ago, as I worked in an abortion clinic as a counselor and a blues bar as a bartender. In both places I was invited into intimate sharing of important moral and personal decisions with the people I served, and was moved by the everyday theological thinking of people in places normally considered far from “godly.” As I pursued theological education and then ministry, my call has always been to bridge worlds and be part of working with individuals and organizations to connect with those they might consider least “like” them. I believe God is in that “in between” and always calling us to learn about the connections that we might otherwise miss as we live in the illusion of our “independence” or isolation. At this moment, I have just completed four intense years of turning around a national nonprofit devoted to bringing people together to build trust and understanding, growing its impact and achieving financial sustainability. I am feeling called to return to more engagement with a single community and to do more work in the pastoral and worship arenas alongside the organizational change management and diversity training that I have done these last few years.”
Rev. Parisa will join FUUSN officially on August 1, 2022. Between now and then, the Board will be working with Rev. Parisa, FUUSN staff, the Ops Council, and others to facilitate her on-boarding process. We know many of you will be eager to get to know Rev. Parisa and we look forward to welcoming her to our community in the months to come; more details about a community welcome for Rev. Parisa will be forthcoming.
The Search Committee would like to thank everyone who reached out to us about this process, and the qualities we should be looking for in an IM. The committee would like to give special thanks to our wonderful FUUSN staff who took time out of their busy schedules to interview the candidates, and whose input was invaluable in reaching our final decision.
We are so very pleased that Rev. Parisa will be joining us, and look forward to welcoming her to FUUSN!
In service,
Interim Minister Search Committee (Stephanie Kendall, Chris Krebs, Barbara Schmitt and Naomi Wolfe) on behalf of the Board of Trustees
*Here are the skills that were identified as most important in our search for an IM:
the ability to work effectively with all members of our community to help maintain engagement with FUUSN and work to attract new members of FUUSN during the interim period. This includes connecting with adults, children, youth, and staff, as well as responding inclusively to the needs and concerns of staff, members and potential members from all sociocultural identities and backgrounds.
the ability to readily connect with people and understand the group dynamics of the congregation to better move us through the transitional period in a constructive and productive manner, ensuring that all elements of FUUSN feel heard in the process.
the ability and willingness to facilitate our continued commitment to the Pledge to End Racism and our ongoing consideration of adoption of the 8th Principle.