The month of July invites us into the theme of exploration. The deep relationship between a pastor and her people is a sacred bond that asserts itself in different ways. Recently at the Pride Festival in South Bend many people I had not physically met recognized me (and UUFE) from Facebook and other social media. There are so many ways to reach this pastor, including one that is continually evolving: office hours. It is kind of antiquated but there seems to still be a desire for UUFE folks to know exactly where I will be at certain times. Office hours comes from a time when professional clergy had schedules and even careers like those of professors, what with public speaking and prep time and publication expectations.
Professors, like clergy, have to be accessible to their people and so they post certain times the pupils can find them in the office. Only during these office hours could a student expect to speak to the professor, but I can be reached almost all the time across different platforms! I am sure of this and publicize my contacts widely, but I am still exploring the reasons for and practice of office hours.
So, my people, do we like office hours? And do we like them at a public coffee shop or in my office? Neither afford privacy—that would mean making an appointment for a meeting, which I do frequently for all kinds of reasons. But maybe knowing where I am outside of Sunday morning makes you at UUFE feel better?
On July 28 I will give a question box sermon. Through the month of July you are invited to drop questions into the box and I will answer them on July 28. For the month of July, I will not be holding any specific hours but am available to meet by schedule. Call me, text me, email me, say hi around town, after the service on Sunday, or by FB messenger. I love our deep connections and want to keep it so. Keep exploring those connections, as I will also.
In peace with love,
Rev. Amy