Dear Beloved Members and Friends of UUSS:

On August 21, I, Student Minister Sangye Hawke, became Reverend Sangye Hawke inside the lovely sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento. No event is without challenges, but the Ordination Team of UUSS made this dual congregation ordination look easy. Working with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Santa Cruz County, whose membership hovers just under eighty souls, this Co-Ordination was not a first in the realm of ordinations in the last two years held on Zoom, but was a first for both congregations.

Zoom technology also made available clergy to come and participate without the expense and danger of travel. We had clergy and seminarians Zoom in from Okinawa, New York, and Hawaii. We also had attendees from New Zealand. As the Service Leader, Celia Buckley did a fantastic job, shepherding us through the usual internet congestion delays with humor and grace, glowing and radiant. Dirk Tuell, our Sunday Services Tech Wizard, held all the elements together with magic and skill as clergy Zoomed in or sent videos to contribute their wisdom and rituals of ordination. Those of you who wish to view the Ordination can do so, as we made a recording. Dirk can let you know how to view the private video.

Of course, no event can be without Ordination Chairperson Bobbie Keill’s extraordinary talent in both baking and reception. The food was elegant and delicious! Her team worked from 11:00 am creating handmade hors d’heurves, until the ceremony concluded at 4:00 pm!

The weather also seemed divine, never hovering about 84 degrees. Reverend Roger provided wonderful hospitality to several attending local UU clergy and I am deeply beholden to Reverend Doctor Gretchen Woods, Minister Emeritus of Corvalis, Oregon for helping steady my shaking hands and fluttering heart as I put on, for the first time, my new Ministerial Robe.

Nothing says Resilience more than flowers. This handcrafted arrangement was made by Terrie Taylor with a vase that survived the recent fires.

Reverend Cynthia Davis held us all in her ethereal gift of music, an original composition on a wooden flute, as we pondered the powerful words of a homily provided by the author of “Widening the Circle of Concern”, Reverend Leslie Takahashi of Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church of Walnut Creek, California.

Denis Edgren, Vice President of the Board of Trustees, represented UUSS in style and grace, sharing the screen with UUFSCC’s Board President in a tricky technical maneuver that required both parties to speak as if in conversation without being able to talk directly to one another. The result was genuinely Presidential. You are gifted to have such examples of leadership in your congregation.

But the ceremony would not have been complete if it had not been for the amazingly lovingly crafted stole. Molly Stewart and Karen Sparrow created a gorgeous stole replete with CONSTELLATIONS embroidered on the back and a jellyfish filled with tiny glitter hearts and jewels.

No minister could have been more honored than I was, and I sincerely thank all of you for being part of this life-changing, spiritual event. One of the most popular questions I have been asked is, where will I be a minister? In Santa Cruz? Here?

This year I am working full-time as a chaplain resident at UC Davis Medical Center. But I am also part of this amazing and beloved congregation. Yes, I am here to stay. Thank you for welcoming me back again into your community!
Again, Stay safe, well, and calm. Our most precious resource is each other.

In blessing and love,
The Reverend Sangye Hawke