From Becky Densmore, BOT Chair 2021-2022

The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce UUCUC will soon have a new Consulting Minister joining our beloved community! Rev. Karen Bush, retired United Church of Christ minister and longtime resident of Urbana-Champaign, has accepted the board’s invitation to serve our church for the duration of Rev. Florence’s extended medical leave. She will formally begin her journey with us on September 7. If you would like to reach out to welcome and connect with her, please use her new UUCUC email which is consulting-minister@uucuc.org.

Rev. Karen has had a long-time relationship with the UU going back to the early 80s which included planning ecumenical worship and being in community over several years with seminarians at the Meadville Lombard seminary. This connection stayed strongly in place as she served as a board member at Channing Murray in the early 2000s before enjoying a more formal role supervising UU seminarians serving in campus ministry at UIUC before culminating in serving part time as the UU campus minister herself a decade later.

In collaboration with Rev. Sally Fritsche, Rev. Karen will provide pastoral care and support of our congregation as well as share the pulpit every month through the end of 2021. Additionally, she will work closely with Kathleen Holden, Staff Facilitator. Kathleen has graciously agreed to serve in this new volunteer role to help provide staff and leadership support. Please refer to this guide for a high-level overview of their respective duties. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Becky Densmore at chair@uucuc.org and as a reminder, please don’t forget to sign (if you’ve not already done so) Rev. Florence’s Kudo Board.