The decision we make this afternoon is clear and compelling to the search committee. Kristin and Christian are the ministers we have been looking for.
In your decision making, we ask that you keep in mind the guiding principle that the search committee used throughout our process: Beyond what any of our individual needs or desires might be, could this person (or persons) be our minister? Can the Schmidts be our ministers and serve us effectively?
Before we make the motion to call, we want to make sure you know why we chose them. That’s the accountability we owe you. Through a survey, focus groups and interviews, you told us what you wanted in our next minister. We used these results to guide us.
You told us you wanted strong worship services and sermons. You mentioned sermons that are personal, spiritually enriching, emotionally affecting, thought provoking, intellectually stimulating, and encouraging a sense of exploration and wonder. Your search committee has experienced three of their sermons in person and listened to many more online; you have now experienced two. Their sermons have met our desires. And worship includes more than sermons and more than the ministers. The Schmidts believe that the most moving worship happens when led by a team of gifted collaborators. They enjoy visioning with worship associates and staff, the music program, religious educators, and lay worship volunteers of all ages.
You told us how important music is to you. Both Kristin and Christian are passionate about music. As lifelong musicians, they know the power of music to express what human language cannot.
You told us you want a minister whose theology is compatible with ours, a minister who honors and welcomes those with a range of beliefs and non-beliefs. Kristin and Christian have their own ideas and beliefs and value those of others as they hope others will value theirs. Kristin was raised a UU and approaches ministry with the assumption that we will not all share the same theological beliefs; she identifies as a Universalist. Her theology is rooted in her faith that we have come from love, we are sustained in love, and we are all ultimately, blessedly, bound toward love. Pressed to pick a label, Christian told us he is a mystical humanist: mystical in the sense of deeply connected to direct experience, and humanist in the sense that human lives truly matter and that we have agency to make a difference in our world.
You told us you want a minister who has a pastoral presence and can comfort people in times of need. Empathy came up in our survey as the top quality we wanted in a minister. The Schmidts have years of experience caring for the pastoral needs of people of all ages. If you have spoken with them or seen them interact with a small group, you have seen their ability to be present, to listen, to engage with warmth and compassion.
You told us that our next minister should have a strong commitment to religious education. Kristin has experience leading and developing faith development programs for children and youth in several congregations, and Christian was a youth director/advisor for six years as both a volunteer and a staff member. They have significant experience with adult faith development and strongly promote the rights and responsibilities of youth as congregation members. Plus with two small children, you know that religious education is important to them as a family.
You told us that our next minister should bring an emphasis on social justice and be a witness for our faith and principles in the larger community. Recently they have been part of talks to form a multi-faith, multi-congregation racial justice task force in Cherry Hill with their Jewish and Christian neighbors. They have partnered with local churches, with their statewide UU legislative advocacy network, and with their district as part of their growth in engaging with this work.
You told us that our next minister should know about our governance model. Both have been lead ministers in congregations and served as head of staff, and they do so jointly now in a modified policy governance system at the UU Church in Cherry Hill. They believe that governance and administration models have to be tailored for each congregation’s size, history, culture, and goals. They believe governance should serve the congregation and not the other way around.
You expressed a desire for leadership that is spiritual and inspirational and that includes collaboration with lay leaders. Every indication we have, including from over 15 references at last count has shown that collaboration is the leadership style of the Schmidts. They work with the stakeholders—in our case the congregation, Board, Program Council, Coordinating Team and staff—in making decisions.
Since we announced Kristin and Christian as our candidates, one concern the search committee has heard is how young they are. In our discernment process, we followed the philosophy of our Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop, which many of you attended. We evaluated potential ministers on the characteristics we’ve just enumerated — not their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, class, or age. We have been impressed by their maturity and wisdom and see such potential for their ministry to bloom with us. They have a depth irrespective of their age.
If you think back to a few months ago, we were resigning ourselves to perhaps another year of search and interim ministry. Instead with the Board’s and your support, we went for the second round of search.
And the Reverends Kristin and Christian Schmidt were worth waiting for.
Madame President and members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, the Ministerial Search Committee moves that we call the Reverends Kristin and Christian Schmidt to be our next settled ministers, sharing one full-time position.
UUCB Ministerial Search Committee: Kay Fairwell, Cynthia Asprodites, Stephanie Ann Blythe, Kathy Guarneri, Susan Lankford, Beth Pollard, Warren Zittel
