| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What's New |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Interim Minister
Rev. Jennie Barrington - “It’s a privilege to be here.”
Office Hours:
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. and by Appointment
Email
Office Hours:
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. and by Appointment
My ministry has never been about me, nor about doing things that would sound impressive if I told
people or wrote them down. My ministry is about leaving things better for the generations that will
follow us. Also, I do not expect that I will “fix” much all on my own, nor in a brief period of time. I believe
ministry and social work are cumulative. Our individual efforts may seem small. But we are each
contributing to a greater whole which is adding up to a more loving and enlightened world.
When I was a little girl, our next-door neighbor, an older woman named Margaret Sommers, was very
kind and attentive to me, to my family, and even to our cat. Margaret let me pick flowers and climb
trees in her yard, which stretched behind our house. One day I asked my mother what Margaret did
for work, since she both drove off to places in her little blue car, and worked in a study at home. My
mother said that Margaret was a Christian Science Practitioner. She explained that, when people
were ill, or troubled, they would call Margaret. She would listen to them, and talk with them, and
maybe pray with them, and read to them from the Bible or other helpful words, in the hope that they
would feel better. I have now been a parish minister for almost ten years, consecutively, successfully,
and enjoyably. I would imagine that what people will remember most about my ministry is my being
loving toward children, animals, and people who are somehow on the margins; listening to people
and sharing comforting and hopeful words from many sources with them; and my meditations and
prayers. Had I not known Margaret Sommers, I may never have imagined that, as a woman, I could
be a parish minister. But following in her footsteps, I have seen, by her example, which held
gentleness, strength, and good humor, that there is no reason a woman cannot do this work.
Another clear memory from my childhood is the folk music of the 1960s which I felt was calling me,
and all of us, to work together to create a world that is more peaceful, beautiful, and loving. Also at an
early age, my parents told me that I was a Unitarian Universalist, that they met at the Arlington Street
Church in Boston and were married by the Rev. Dana Greeley, and that my grandmother was a
Universalist in rural Maine. I would have said then that they raised us not to be hypocritical-- to strive
to make what we do match what we say we believe and value. I now phrase that in a more positive
way: to be Unitarian Universalists is to strive to live a life of integrity and authenticity.
As a young adult, I read Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. I
was fascinated by his statements that many people have a relationship with a god they are very angry
at or unrealistically guilt-ridden in the face of, and that religion should make people feel, not worse,
but better. His book showed me that conversations about that which is divine and about grief could
result in people developing a spiritual outlook which is more healthy and whole.
Also as a young adult, I worked for several summers on Star Island, a UU camp and conference
center off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The UU principles and sources were not yet
written at that time. But on Star we were living them in a covenanted UU community as we worked
and played and worshipped together.
My first sense of a calling to become a Unitarian Universalist minister was not until after I worked for
several years doing theatre, then more years as a litigation paralegal in Portland, Maine. I became a
member and a lay leader of First Parish UU of Portland; my niche became coordinating volunteers for
a monthly soup kitchen. I was asked to lead a summer service. I expected doing so would feel much
like giving a secular presentation. To my surprise, I felt a profound sense that I and all of us can be a
vehicle for a greater wisdom and a higher good. I began taking evening classes at Bangor
Theological Seminary’s Portland campus. Eventually, I moved to Bangor and completed my Master of
Divinity degree, internship, and chaplaincy training in May of 2001.
While taking seminary classes, I worked for an agency called Residential Resources of Maine. We
assisted adults who have some disabilities, but also remarkable gifts and graces. The residents
had lived in an institution called Pineland, which was closing. We helped them move to their own
home, and to have full community lives. The adults I worked with were blind, needed assistance
walking, and did not speak in words. That work experience taught me that, even when we cannot fix a
person’s situation of hardship, we can be a helpful, supportive presence, and also learn so much
from the people we serve.
After completing seminary, I began serving as the minister of the UU church of Winchendon,
Massachusetts. My early months in Winchendon were defined by the ministry I did in response to the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I spoke at a community vigil and was a chaplain on the
street, as it were, listening to people’s fears, questions, and insights. Our church hosted a monthly
lecture and discussion series on issues of war and peace, including how these issues affect
children, parents, and caretakers. Though it is always uncomfortable to benefit from a tragic
situation, our church received wide recognition and good will for our strong, caring, and pluralistic
response. I am very proud of all the ways the leadership and I worked together during my seven-year
ministry there. We made the church a stronger, healthier, more sustainable institution.
My position here at UUFF is my third Interim Ministry. I also served as Interim Minister of the UU
Church of Pittsfield, Maine, while I was in seminary, and of First Unitarian Church of South Bend,
Indiana, last year. Interim Ministers provide all the usual parish ministry services, as well as "hold a
mirror up" to all aspects of a congregation's life at this point in its history. We help the congregation
acknowledge and name its past griefs and conflicts; its current identity, strengths, needs, and
challenges; and prepare it for a new long-term, settled minister. I love being an Interim Minister! It
keeps my life spicy. I get to live in fascinating lovely new places-- I get to meet new people who care
fiercely about their congregation’s past, present, and dreams for the future-- And I get to work
alongside them on making sure their congregation will have a long rich life after we are gone-- for the
generations who will need our progressive values and our informed lively debates.
people or wrote them down. My ministry is about leaving things better for the generations that will
follow us. Also, I do not expect that I will “fix” much all on my own, nor in a brief period of time. I believe
ministry and social work are cumulative. Our individual efforts may seem small. But we are each
contributing to a greater whole which is adding up to a more loving and enlightened world.
When I was a little girl, our next-door neighbor, an older woman named Margaret Sommers, was very
kind and attentive to me, to my family, and even to our cat. Margaret let me pick flowers and climb
trees in her yard, which stretched behind our house. One day I asked my mother what Margaret did
for work, since she both drove off to places in her little blue car, and worked in a study at home. My
mother said that Margaret was a Christian Science Practitioner. She explained that, when people
were ill, or troubled, they would call Margaret. She would listen to them, and talk with them, and
maybe pray with them, and read to them from the Bible or other helpful words, in the hope that they
would feel better. I have now been a parish minister for almost ten years, consecutively, successfully,
and enjoyably. I would imagine that what people will remember most about my ministry is my being
loving toward children, animals, and people who are somehow on the margins; listening to people
and sharing comforting and hopeful words from many sources with them; and my meditations and
prayers. Had I not known Margaret Sommers, I may never have imagined that, as a woman, I could
be a parish minister. But following in her footsteps, I have seen, by her example, which held
gentleness, strength, and good humor, that there is no reason a woman cannot do this work.
Another clear memory from my childhood is the folk music of the 1960s which I felt was calling me,
and all of us, to work together to create a world that is more peaceful, beautiful, and loving. Also at an
early age, my parents told me that I was a Unitarian Universalist, that they met at the Arlington Street
Church in Boston and were married by the Rev. Dana Greeley, and that my grandmother was a
Universalist in rural Maine. I would have said then that they raised us not to be hypocritical-- to strive
to make what we do match what we say we believe and value. I now phrase that in a more positive
way: to be Unitarian Universalists is to strive to live a life of integrity and authenticity.
As a young adult, I read Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. I
was fascinated by his statements that many people have a relationship with a god they are very angry
at or unrealistically guilt-ridden in the face of, and that religion should make people feel, not worse,
but better. His book showed me that conversations about that which is divine and about grief could
result in people developing a spiritual outlook which is more healthy and whole.
Also as a young adult, I worked for several summers on Star Island, a UU camp and conference
center off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The UU principles and sources were not yet
written at that time. But on Star we were living them in a covenanted UU community as we worked
and played and worshipped together.
My first sense of a calling to become a Unitarian Universalist minister was not until after I worked for
several years doing theatre, then more years as a litigation paralegal in Portland, Maine. I became a
member and a lay leader of First Parish UU of Portland; my niche became coordinating volunteers for
a monthly soup kitchen. I was asked to lead a summer service. I expected doing so would feel much
like giving a secular presentation. To my surprise, I felt a profound sense that I and all of us can be a
vehicle for a greater wisdom and a higher good. I began taking evening classes at Bangor
Theological Seminary’s Portland campus. Eventually, I moved to Bangor and completed my Master of
Divinity degree, internship, and chaplaincy training in May of 2001.
While taking seminary classes, I worked for an agency called Residential Resources of Maine. We
assisted adults who have some disabilities, but also remarkable gifts and graces. The residents
had lived in an institution called Pineland, which was closing. We helped them move to their own
home, and to have full community lives. The adults I worked with were blind, needed assistance
walking, and did not speak in words. That work experience taught me that, even when we cannot fix a
person’s situation of hardship, we can be a helpful, supportive presence, and also learn so much
from the people we serve.
After completing seminary, I began serving as the minister of the UU church of Winchendon,
Massachusetts. My early months in Winchendon were defined by the ministry I did in response to the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I spoke at a community vigil and was a chaplain on the
street, as it were, listening to people’s fears, questions, and insights. Our church hosted a monthly
lecture and discussion series on issues of war and peace, including how these issues affect
children, parents, and caretakers. Though it is always uncomfortable to benefit from a tragic
situation, our church received wide recognition and good will for our strong, caring, and pluralistic
response. I am very proud of all the ways the leadership and I worked together during my seven-year
ministry there. We made the church a stronger, healthier, more sustainable institution.
My position here at UUFF is my third Interim Ministry. I also served as Interim Minister of the UU
Church of Pittsfield, Maine, while I was in seminary, and of First Unitarian Church of South Bend,
Indiana, last year. Interim Ministers provide all the usual parish ministry services, as well as "hold a
mirror up" to all aspects of a congregation's life at this point in its history. We help the congregation
acknowledge and name its past griefs and conflicts; its current identity, strengths, needs, and
challenges; and prepare it for a new long-term, settled minister. I love being an Interim Minister! It
keeps my life spicy. I get to live in fascinating lovely new places-- I get to meet new people who care
fiercely about their congregation’s past, present, and dreams for the future-- And I get to work
alongside them on making sure their congregation will have a long rich life after we are gone-- for the
generations who will need our progressive values and our informed lively debates.
Rev. Jennie Barrington's Sermons:
02/24/2010 - Passenger Pigeons and Black Swans
01/17/2010 - Labor That Uplifts Humanity - In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday
01/10/2010 - They Called it a Miracle
01/03/2010 - Names for Things We Love and Loathe
12/06/2009 - Was Galileo a Unitarian?
11/29/2009 - Pathfinders
11/22/2009 - Being Our Best Selves
11/08/2009 - What Would Walt Whitman Do?
11/01/2009 - Lawyers, Guns, and Money
10/25/2009 - Do You Believe in Magic?
10/18/2009 - What Does it Mean to Live a Good Life?
10/11/2009 - When at Our Best and Worst
09/20/2009 - Setting Social Justice Priorities
09/13/2009 - Ministry at Family Reunions
09/06/2009 - Ministry at the Detroit Airport
02/24/2010 - Passenger Pigeons and Black Swans
01/17/2010 - Labor That Uplifts Humanity - In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday
01/10/2010 - They Called it a Miracle
01/03/2010 - Names for Things We Love and Loathe
12/06/2009 - Was Galileo a Unitarian?
11/29/2009 - Pathfinders
11/22/2009 - Being Our Best Selves
11/08/2009 - What Would Walt Whitman Do?
11/01/2009 - Lawyers, Guns, and Money
10/25/2009 - Do You Believe in Magic?
10/18/2009 - What Does it Mean to Live a Good Life?
10/11/2009 - When at Our Best and Worst
09/20/2009 - Setting Social Justice Priorities
09/13/2009 - Ministry at Family Reunions
09/06/2009 - Ministry at the Detroit Airport
5044 Plank Road
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
Fellowship Main Office PH: 540-548-1301
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
Fellowship Main Office PH: 540-548-1301
To Read Rev. Jennie's Sermons See Below |