Author: Duane Fickeisen

Barbara Child and Marni Harmony

Annually, UURMaPA bestows its Creative Sageing Award “in recognition of outstanding service and creativity in pursuing new ventures after retirement and building on one’s experience in creative ways.” This year’s recipient would likely eschew the word “retirement;” in truth, she doesn’t really know what the word means.

Makanah Morris, Marni Harmony, and Ellen Brandenburg served on the selection committee. Their decision was unanimous: The Reverend Barbara Child.

Makanah commented on Barbara’s thoughtful and responsive leadership of the Commission on Appraisal. “She offered us clear, strong, courageous, and positive leadership with this effort.” She also mentioned Barbara’s voice on the UUMA Chat as one that offers clarity, wisdom, and helpful practical ideas to those currently serving congregations. Said Makanah, “She embodies the role of ‘practical sage’ and offers us all a model for how to do this.” Ellen talked about Barbara’s energy, focus, and enthusiasm being “remarkably sage and creative.” Marni called her a “wise elder owl” (avoiding the word “old”) who has mentored Marni among many others.

A lengthy tribute from Transitions Director Keith Kron was shared. Keith mentioned Barbara’s work around Women and Religion; the Commission on Social Witness; the Commission on Appraisal; as well as her long service as an MSR and his work with her to publish In the Interim. He concluded, “The book has greatly influenced our movement, specifically congregations as they move into interim ministry. Barbara is a tireless worker, with high expectations of others and even higher expectations of herself. She wants to do whatever she sets out to do well and thoroughly. Her commitment to our faith is remarkable. And thankfully she continues to live out that commitment each and every day.”

Most recently, Barbara has been working on a program she calls Espresso Strength Jump Start Transition Work — a program of short-term intensive consulting for congregations that have lost a minister, but for any number of different reasons are either not interested in or not able to engage a full-time interim minister. It’s a program that can appeal to retired or soon-to-retire ministers who have special skills and extensive experience. She’s also busily at work helping to create training videos for new Ministerial Settlement Representatives (today called Regional Transition Coaches). She serves as one of UURMaPA’s Outreach Connectors. And, of course, she continues her pattern of lifelong learning by taking courses at Pacifica Institute in Santa Barbara, CA.

In her message of thanks to the Committee, Barbara wrote, “To all three of you, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful honor you have given me as a Creative Sage. As you surely know, I was completely surprised — and Marni, your delayed revelation of who was getting the award was quite a piece of work! Also, you did some amazing sleuthing. I’m mightily impressed.“I do want to say that, Makanah, you surely deserve as much credit as I do for efforts to preserve the Commission on Appraisal. Jim Hobart was no slouch either. And after all, as a retired interim minister, not emerita anywhere, I couldn’t speak at GA or even vote. I was completely blown away that the delegates voted to keep COA. I guess I simply applaud all of us who worked in one way or another to educate people about what would be lost if COA was eliminated.

“But of course now I write to you mainly, once more, to say thank you for the enormous gifts you have given me — the generous check, of course, but especially the honor of your appreciation of the work I continue to love to do.”

And so, as Barbara would say, “There you have it.” Indeed. Congratulations Barbara!

— Marni Harmony

The first recipient of UURMaPA’s Unsung Hero aware is the Rev. Glen Snowden. Glen is a former member of the UURMAPA Board and took on the role of Coordinator of the Caring Network Reps all across the Continent. I know of his work because he persuaded me to take on the position of Caring Representative for the Ballou Channing District. It was my job to keep in touch with retired UU ministers and their partners and report back to him on any needs or concerns that came my way.

Glen also worked on the Planning Committee for the Attleboro Fall Conference for a number of years. I have direct knowledge of his able work in this area as well because he got me to serve on that Committee with him. How do you say No to a sweet talking guy like Glen when all he wants you to do is assist him in his wish to be of help and service to his fellow ministerial colleagues and their partners.

Glen may be soft spoken, but he’s very persuasive in a very caring way, because he really cares and he really means it when he sets out to be of help and service to others or asks you to join him in that service. I can also testify that Glen Snowden is the kind of guy who hangs in there for the long term, loyal to the end. He did it with his late beloved wife Lorraine, and he did it in so many other tasks and obligations he took on over the years.

For example, Glen has been Secretary of the Society for Ministerial Relief at least since 1980. David Pohl says that Glen was there when he went on in 1973. People who have dealt with Glen on personal financial issues have uniformly said that he was most kind and gracious and professional in helping them. Many retired ministers are indebted to Glen – not for the money they received since that came from the Society- but for his assistance in helping them organize their finances to present their case for help. He has always been diligent and timely in his response to people in need.

For many years Glen was Secretary of the Unitarian Service Pension Society, and still continues to serve as one of its Directors. This is an investment group that manages and distributes quarterly contributions to retired ministers who have served for 20 or more years.

If that were not enough Glen also serves on the Board of the Massachusetts Congregational Charitable Society since at least 1990—an organization with both Congregational and Unitarian roots that provides charitable help and aid to needy clergy and their family within our Congregational and Unitarian churches.
I don’t know where Glen finds these groups but I’m glad he’s there “doing the Lord’s work.”

I’ve known Glen since 1970s and 80s when he asked me to speak to one of his religion classes at Emerson College (where he was a teacher and professor) about parapsychology and mystical experience . He and I worked together on the Psi Symposium Board for some 30 to 40 years trying to promote interest in psychic and mystical experience within the UUA.

I told you Glen had the propensity to hang in there for the long term. I’m just glad he’s hung around long enough to be part of our UU Retired Ma Pa organization and just in time to receive this first and well-deserved Unsung UURMAPA Hero Award.

— Dick Fewkes

Iska Cole

The UURMaPA Board is pleased to designate Iska Cole this year’s Unsung Hero. Awarded by the UURMaPA Board for the first time in 2012, the Unsung Hero Award goes to one of our UURMAPA members who has not been otherwise recognized for his or her vital contributions to our UU retired movement, along with generous service to others. It honors volunteers who have made an extraordinary contribution to our association, working behind the scenes during their retirement years.

After many years of activity in the ministry of her husband, David Cole, who died after a long illness in 2011, Iska dove into UURMaPA. She was the association’s treasurer for seven years, a program presenter at its Attleboro conference in 1999, the coordinator of its business meeting in 2000, and the organizer of its all-important Happy Hour in 2002 and 2003. For many years Iska made sure that a card or a note went to UURMaPA members unable to attend the Attleboro conference. In 2012 she presented a gripping impromptu Odyssey after the scheduled presenter fell ill. And only recently was it revealed that years ago Iska crafted the handsome banner that UURMaPAns proudly display at the General Assembly parade.

At the District level, for what may be as many as thirty years Iska coordinated the UURMaPA Caring Network in Maine. A colleague recalls:  “Faithfully, every year, she sent her regional captains large packets with every detail to make the job easier, lists with addresses, and usually on a pretty decorative paper she had taken the trouble to buy with her own money. She had gatherings at her house to make us feel like a team.”  Another praised the administrative acumen she brought to her work:  “She organized the volunteers and assigned each volunteer a number of volunteers to call. Her innovation was to send a copy of all the volunteers’ lists to each volunteer. She called the volunteers 2-3 times a year to inquire about the volunteers and spouses on their list.”  A third sums it up:  “She organized a small committee of partners. She kept us going and she kept us all alive.”

For such exemplary service, the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Retired Ministers and Partners Association honors Iska Cole with its Unsung Hero Award for the year 2013, together with the accompanying cash award of $500.

Jan Taddeo and Rhett Baird

The 2014 UURMaPA Unsung Hero Award was given to the Rev. Rhett Baird of Snellville, GA. Rhett Baird has been an outstanding Area Coordinator for UURMaPA. Our Caring Coordinator, Margi Nasmann, first got him to agree to serve, asking Rhett to contact retired colleagues in Georgia — to keep in touch. Rhett does just that — in spades! He calls, he writes, he urges his retired UU colleagues to contact him — with an urgency that invites response! Rhett also alerts other retired colleagues to call someone if he feels they can be useful.

With the invaluable help of the Rev. Jan Taddeo, minister of the UU congregation of Gwinnette in Lawrenceville, GA, the award was presented on December 10 at the Atlanta area UU ministers cluster meeting. Jan first called Rhett with an invitation to come to the meeting. She told him she needed him, and she couldn’t tell him why! One of the reasons Rhett is this year’s recipient of the Unsung Hero Award is that he knew, because Jan was his colleague, regardless of the mystery surrounding her request, he needed to do what she’d asked him to do. With trepidation as to what he was being asked to do, Rhett showed up at the cluster meeting.

They seated him at the head of the table—he couldn’t figure out why—and then they presented him with the letter from the Rev. Richard Gilbert, President of UURMaPA, and a check that goes with the award. Rhett was so surprised — he said he cried through the entire presentation.

The letter accompanying the award reads, in part, “As the Georgia Area Coordinator for UURMaPA’s Caring Network, you have gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve your retired colleagues. You call. You write. You keep in touch. You care.” Quoting Kenneth Patton, Rev. Gilbert continued, “He sought not the honor of the high seat, but the place where the needed tasks were to be done; he was a willing servant, knowing the honor and the reward in being used.”

In his letter thanking the UURMaPA Board for this honor, Rhett wrote, “I have no words to adequately express my deep appreciation to you for recently being presented the designation of 2014 Unsung Hero and its accompanying $500… Rhonda, my wife of almost fifty four years, and I are both most grateful and appreciative of this honor and recognition. I will try to continue to live up to your expectations. We are both glad that UURMaPA exists, and we know that its various activities touch the lives of our colleagues and partners in many and diverse and important affirming ways that are, indeed, blessings, every one of them. Every act of care and concern is surely a blessing upon both the giver and the receiver. And, thus, ministry continues to flourish among us and to that I can only say Amen.”

Vern and Sue Nichols with Dick Gilbert

The 2015 Unsung UURMaPAn Award was given at the recent Attleboro Conference to Vern and Sue Nichols. In the statement that accompanied his presentation, Dick Gilbert cited the many ways that Vern and Sue have served as superb Area Caring Coordinators for the Metro New York/New Jersey cluster:

“They are very attentive to the needs of fellow clergy and partners… with phone calls, e-mails and personal visits. They have facilitated the attendance of other NYC area UURMaPAns at the Attleboro Conference, and have organized many informal get-togethers such as museum visits, attendance at concerts, excursions, and ‘game night’ gatherings.”

In retirement, Sue and Vern have been deeply involved with the UU United Nations Office, Sue serving as co-director from 1986-1993 and Vern as the President Emeritus of the UU NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security. He has published articles and represented the organization at international conferences; she has attended meetings of the International Association for Religious Freedom. Sue also volunteered for New York Public Radio and sang with the St. George’s Choral Society.

In their letter of thanks to the Board, they wrote “It has been a privilege for Sue to serve on the UURMaPA Board and for both of us to serve as Caring Network Coordinators for the NY Metro District since 2004.” They went on to list several of their recent gatherings, and hoped that after their move to Portland, OR to be near family, their successor Caring Coordinator would have as much fun as they have had.

Chris Backus and Judy Welles

The Unsung UURMaPAn Award annually honors a volunteer who has made an extraordinary contribution to UURMaPA, working behind the scenes during their retirement years. This year’s deserving winner, chosen by your Board, is Chris Lilly Backus.

Reading the citation that accompanied the $500 award, Judy Welles noted that Chris has served for decades, before and after retirement, as an articulate and committed advocate for ministers’ partners, “the often under-recognized element of UURMaPA’s membership.” She was a founding member of UUMPs (the UU Ministers’ Partners) in 1980, and has been chosen as the spokesperson for partners on several different UUA, UUMA, and UURMaPA task forces.

Chris served as the editor of Elderberries from 2008 to 2012, then moved to the Nominating Committee as another way to serve our organization.

The citation concludes, “When Chris and Andy retired and moved to Bellingham, Washington, they realized with some sadness that they could never be laypeople again, and thus would never find religious community within a UU congregation. To some degree, UURMaPA has met that need for them. Chris has given generously and with great skill and commitment to UURMaPA, and we are delighted to give something back to her by recognizing her as UURMaPA’s Unsung UURMaPAn for 2016.”