On Sunday, September 17th, representatives of the GLOW Team offered an enthusiastic welcome to Rev. E.N. Hill celebrating the beginning of our shared ministry.

It’s our pleasure to welcome Rev. E.N. Hill as our contract minister this year. Rev. E.N. started on September 15th and will be our minister through June, 2024. They are an Air Force veteran, social justice activist, spoken word artist, and a Unitarian Universalist minister. E.N. identifies as non-binary and welcomes all pronouns . A graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry in 2020, they completed parish internship in Ottawa, Canada in 2021, was welcomed into preliminary fellowship in 2022, and was ordained in February 2023 at the UU Church of Tallahassee while serving as the affiliated Community Minister. Recently, E.N. also served as a Chaplain in residence at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare as a part of the Clinical Pastoral Education program. In the near future, E.N. plans to rejoin the military as a Chaplain where they will finish their last 5 years of service towards active-duty retirement.

Reverend E.N. Hill brought us goals for ministry and we, as a congregation, brought our aims as well. This led to an agreement that differs from the usual settled minister’s agreement.

One of our goals is “building and sustaining caring relationships in the congregation.” We yearn for a community of compassion. Rev. E.N. offers us his passion for small groups, and a willingness to encourage building connections.

We are also intent on creating and sustaining a vital, multigenerational Religious Exploration program. Our DRE, Alessandra Nysether Santos will be instrumental in moving toward that end. But, she can’t do it alone. Fortunately, E.N. also brings to us an interest in supporting our youth and adults as they grow in understanding and faithfulness to our UU values.

Rev. E.N. brought to the Search Committee a vision for offering ministry in the local community. We share an ambition for letting people know about our bighearted values that put love at the center of our faith. To free Rev. E.N. for work in the community, his contract calls for him to be out in the community more, and in the pulpit less. It’s a change, but one that might make our ministries come more fully alive.

As we celebrate ingathering, the life-giving power of water, and our shared ministry of UUCT, we welcome you, Rev. E.N., to lead us as our minister. Lead us to bring our own unique superpowers together, find how they support each other toward the goal of liberation, and engage in honing them toward our shared mission and goals. 

And, in adapting the words of Wendy Bartel and Lynn Gardner, we share a part of a Blessing of Shared Ministry:

May there be joy in the work to come.
May expressions of gratitude and appreciation flow freely. 
May there be courage for honest and sometimes hard conversations. 
May forgiveness and grace be found within these walls, and 
may love and justice grow in Tallahassee and beyond.