WHO IS REV. SARAH STEWART?

   

Who is Reverend Sarah Stewart?

by

the Ministerial Search Committee

Reverend Stewart is self-assured and authentic. As one MSC member puts it, “she knows what she is about”; as another MSC member puts it, “She has a calm presence about her that has a way of putting those around her at ease.” In her interactions with us, she always seemed to know when to lead and when to follow. Her quiet confidence underscored our conviction that she will be a gentle but focused guide to self-discovery for us all.

Reverend Stewart preaches well, integrating all components of the service. Services are partnerships between a minister and a congregation. The tenor of a service depends on the nature of this partnership and on the setting. When we witnessed in person how Sarah conducted a service in a neutral pulpit at a church similar to ours, we discerned and felt a deeper connection than we had previously suspected. During “Time for All Ages,” Sarah related delightfully with a group of children she had never met before. Her sermon integrated messages from that segment, as well as the readings and the music. As a classically trained violist, she tells us that she is “excited” by the emphasis we place on music in our church.

Reverend Stewart is a self-starter. All will be impressed that Sarah’s Masters’ degree comes from Harvard. But nearly as noteworthy is the fact that her undergraduate degree is from Sarah Lawrence College, an innovative school with a national reputation as a haven for the self-directed. Sarah Stewart has a wonderful capacity to cut through situations and get to their essence. This trait is a mark of genuine leadership. It’s not just a matter of academic credentials. It is visibly a part of her, something we experienced in every interaction.

Sarah possesses scholarly spirituality. Her Masters thesis at Harvard (which you can read by clicking “References and Writing” under the “Welcome” tab in her Packet) was an impressive early demonstration not just of her scholarly gifts but also of her capacity to connect those gifts to genuine spiritual nurturing. This capacity is evident from the very first pages.

Sarah possesses a tremendous work ethic. Sarah is very smart. But intelligence can mean little if it is not harnessed. Sarah has built and she maintains work habits that serve her well. Appropriately, hers is very truly a work ethic.

It is not about her; it’s about the work. You will be drawn to Sarah. But most likely, the reason will not be because she “WOWS” you. Rather, it will be because she “wows” you. Do you know the part of our service that calls you to listen to “the still, small voice” inside you? Through grace and connectivity, Sarah will help you listen, consequentially, to your “still, small voice.” And she will help all of us listen deeply to each other, and to what we can offer the wider world.

Sarah challenges herself. One of Sarah’s defining traits is her capacity for personal and professional growth. Whenever she has sensed an area where she needed to improve (according to her own high standards), she has gone forward and done something about it. For instance, as a newly installed minister in New Hampshire, she concluded that preaching and learnedness weren’t enough: she also needed management skills. So alongside her activities as a full-time professional and a young mother, she took two business courses at a local college. Lo and behold, Sarah learned that management was among her strong suits. Today, she sits on the Board of Trustees of the UUA.

Now although First Unitarian needs good managerial skills, that is not the point. Rather, this small example is indicative of the strength of self-knowledge, personal answerability, and capacity for growth—including growth in preaching—that your Ministerial Search Committee recognizes in Reverend Sarah Stewart. One of the traits that this congregation repeatedly mentioned during our Listening Sessions last fall was that the new minister ought to be someone who leads not by admonition but by strength of personal example. Perhaps above all else, that is who Sarah Stewart is.

Sarah will challenge us to be our best selves. You said in the Listening Sessions—and the MSC inserted into our job description—that we don’t want our minister to feed us easy answers. We are an intelligent, theologically diverse congregation. If there is one thing we pride ourselves on, it is our understanding that human situations raise ethical dilemmas. Discerning truth(s) amid complexity can be hard spiritual work. Together, Sarah and this congregation will challenge each other to do this work.

And this is just the beginning. Every minister is a real person, with varying areas of special strength. For that reason, your MSC told you in advance that choosing a Candidate was going to be hard—due not to too few riches, but to too many. Moreover, “living together” for 52 weeks, we discovered that you chose a very representative MSC—in the sense that, like many UUs, we tend to hold strong, and not always consonant, opinions. Yet, when all was said and done, we amazed ourselves, for when the time came, we chose Reverend Stewart with remarkable speed, amity, collegiality, and heartfelt conviction. Moreover, she chose us, too! After “Pre-Candidating” in four attractive churches, she told us that she felt “deeply called” to serve us. We are her first choice, and she is ours.

We unanimously recommend Sarah Stewart to lead this congregation in the years to come. We are eager to tell you why, to answer your questions fully, to help you fill out your understanding of who she is and how she is likely to lead, and above all, to listen to you as you decide.

·       For Sarah’s own words about herself and her ministry, you can access her Ministerial Packet by clicking http://sst.uuministerialsearch.com. [Note: Please ignore the “Login” button. Simply click on any of the tabs.]

·       For additional sermons and writings, you can access Sarah’s blog by clicking http://revsarahstewart.typepad.com/blog/.