By Kerry Mellette & Pat Russo
“Some things that are worthy of doing, cannot be measured. Did you transform a heart today?”
We had the honor of representing our congregation in a week-long leadership and faith development experience called SUULE (Southern Unitarian Universalist Leadership Experience). We spent the week at the 4H camp in Wiertz, VA, with 50 UUs from the Southeast Region and an incredible UU staff.
For us, every morning began with a tranquil walk to a beautiful, picturesque lake. Then, after a group breakfast, the formal, daily program began with 9 AM worship and ended at 9 PM after the daily small group covenant reflections. Most of each day was spent in large and small discussion groups, with topics ranging from faith and congregational development to leadership. We explored in depth the concept of covenant (the promises we make to each other regarding how we will be a community of faith) with questions like, “What values will we uphold and how will we do this together?”
Every aspect of this experience brought us back to our faith’s ability to impact us as individuals, impact our congregation, impact our community, and impact our world. As we both contemplate how to continue our development and contribute to the greater good, we invite you to consider these words that began our week:
- Faith development is our job, it’s what we do
- UU is what we teach
- Our congregation is the curriculum
In summary, SUULE was a heart transforming experience!
In faith,
Kerry Mellette and Pat Russo