Dear Ones,
I’m excited to be joining you soon as we begin this settled ministry together!
UUSM has been going through a lot of transitions this summer. Please know that I’m with you in spirit as you process them and that I’m glad that I’ll soon be joining you in person to help navigate them. With you, I’m very sad to see Saunder, Jessica, and Kikanza leave us even as I’m deeply grateful for their time at UUSM and am excited to see where their journeys take them.
I arrived in Los Angeles on July 11 and have been spending the past few weeks getting settled into our apartment in Sawtelle Japantown with my mother, Esther, and our dog, Sydney. We’re delighted to have found such a wonderful new home and community. In addition to the unglamorous parts of settling in, I’ve been enjoying setting up my balcony garden, volunteering at Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, trying out yoga classes and bike routes, finding hikes that are good for dogs, sampling restaurants in my neighborhood, and exploring arts opportunities.
My start date at UUSM is August 7, when I’ll begin by moving into my office. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at the worship service that Sunday, August 9, and in the coming weeks.
On August 16, I’ll be co-leading an all ages worship service about beginnings with summer RE lead Maddie Van Beek. We’ll be blessing backpacks, saddle bags, knitting bags, and whatever other kinds of bags our members and friends of all ages carry on your daily adventures. Afterwards we’ll have a picnic gathering in the courtyard. I’ll be visiting RE classes during the worship service on August 23 and on August 30 I’ll be leading the worship service. Our Ingathering Water Communion and Opportunities Fair will be September 13.
I’ll also be setting up lots of 1:1 meetings with formal and informal leaders over the coming weeks to get to know you better as individuals and as a congregation. These will be happening at a slightly slower pace since I’ll also be leading the hiring processes for our new Music Director and new Religious Education Director.
I’m grateful for the excellent work that Rev. Jeremiah, Saunder, and Jessica did that leaves these programs in such great shape as we look for new staff, and I’m grateful for the work that your Board leadership and committees have done to set up bridge coverage and to prepare for these searches. Thanks to their leadership, I’m confident that we’re in a good place to begin this congregational year and find excellent staff to support this next stage of our congregation’s journey.
I look forward to seeing you soon and to finding out how our journey together will unfold!
Love and Blessings,
Rev. Diana
