Sunny Notes: 10.01.25 - Beginnings

It is with excitement and gratitude that I write this first column as I embark upon serving you all as your contract minister—excitement because I have spent the last three years at Yale Divinity School eagerly anticipating this very moment of beginning my ministerial walk alongside a congregation, and gratitude because I am beginning my ministry with a congregation as wonderful as BUF. What an honor and a privilege. 

I write to you from my new studio apartment here in Bellingham, where I am getting settled and beginning to explore all that your special city has to offer. I have received the warmest of welcomes and over-the-top hospitality from all those among you who I have met so far. Thank you! And I look forward to meeting all those I have not yet met very soon.

To that end, I will be holding "Getting to Know You" small-group meetings in the coming weeks so that I can hear what you love about BUF, what BUF does best, and what your hopes for BUF's future are (please stay tuned for instructions coming soon on how to sign up for these meetings). Echoing Rev. Barbara ten Hove's words in her final column as your Transitional Support Minister, I am here to learn from and with you all as we navigate this transition together. I have seen already that this is a vibrant congregation full of caring and committed folks who hold a wealth of personal and institutional wisdom (I also am thrilled to have so many practicing and retired ministers in our midst!) and who are showing up to help in this beloved community and in the world beyond through numerous social justice endeavors. I am here for all of it and will support the work of this incredible congregation to the best of my abilities.

I cannot wait to hit the ground running with you all this week—here's to a wonderful year ahead!  

— Sunny Joy McMillan, J.D., M.Div.