A change from Rev. Ashley

Dear Beloved Community,

These words, from Black futurist writer Octavia E. Butler, have been with me often lately. To draw on her vision as a white woman is to honor the ways I am not the protagonist of her story—of our collective story—but rather a participant willing to be changed in the work of community and liberation. That is the faithfulness I have sought to embody as your Assistant Minister: to be changed, and to support you in change.

In that spirit, I am writing to share that I will be ending my role as Assistant Minister at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, with my final Sunday on June 7.

I am proud of what we have transformed together. In the years since COVID, we have reshaped not only the visible life of the church, but the deeper work of belonging—work that has called for new tools, like the Intercultural Development Inventory we have begun to engage together. We have grown a culture of stewardship rooted in relationship and trust, where generosity becomes a spiritual practice and, in this moment, a form of resistance to tyranny. I have witnessed extraordinary beauty as we have accompanied immigrant and trans families seeking refuge, blessed birth control (and so many other people and things!) in worship, built an infrastructure of care during Operation Metro Surge and crossed life and death’s thresholds together.

And now it is time for me to step into a role that allows me to center my children’s needs in this season of life, especially on weekends. I will be serving as a Major Gifts Officer with VEAP, working to address food insecurity and support those navigating financial precarity.

This work is a continuation of my ministry. I come from a Christian communion tradition that centers food—not only as something that sustains us, but as something that gathers us and connects us. From you, I also carry a growing understanding of the power of liberating our resources for our collective well-being.

What we have changed together has shaped me, and I trust it will continue to shape this community. In the weeks ahead, there will be time to mark this transition more fully. For now, thank you—for the ways you have shown up, for the risks you have taken, and for the care you have offered one another.

The only lasting truth is change.

In gratitude,
Rev. Ashley Harness
Assistant Minister
First Universalist Church of Minneapolis

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Dear members and friends of First Universalist Church,

This past Sunday, we sat together with the words of Irish poet John O’Donahue:

Fluent

I would like to live
Like a river flows.
Carried by the surprise
Of its own unfolding.

These are aspirational words for me, and for our life as a community. To be this at ease with change, to welcome it with surprise and a sense of unfolding even as we feel the grief that comes with it, to lean into instead of away from the turn of the cycles of life that turn for us all.

Today, we are looking ahead and a turn in the river is coming into view for us as a congregation and for Rev. Ashley. Rev. Ashley has let us know that her time with us as Assistant Minister will be coming to an end. She has accepted a position at VEAP as a Major Gifts Officer, and she’ll be wrapping up her work with us over the next several weeks. Her final Sunday at First Universalist will be on June 7th.

It was a turn in the river that brought Rev. Ashley to us in the fall of 2022 on a part-time basis. She joined our ministry team as we were making our way out of the depths of COVID-19, and she soon transitioned to three-quarter time and then full-time ministry here. Her initial work focused on supporting the church through critical changes in how we connect with one another. Over time, her role expanded to include increased preaching, worship leadership, and pastoral care.

Rev. Ashley has also been instrumental in supporting and rebuilding our stewardship efforts, coining the phrase that has now become a part of who we are: “liberating our financial resources.” She has also helped us lean into our work with the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) through shared ministry and bringing that learning into key areas of congregational life, including our board, staff, and sanctuary and resistance teams. Throughout it all, she has maintained a ministry of care for us all. 

As we look ahead, let’s take the time to grieve and to give thanks for the many gifts Rev. Ashley and her ministry have given us. We are grateful for her theological depth, for her moving preaching and worship leadership, and for the ways she has supported us through staff and ministry transitions. While we feel the grief that our paths will now move in different directions, we also feel gratitude that her gifts for building Beloved Community will continue to serve the world in her new role. As is usual when ministers and staff depart, Rev. Ashley will step away from being in relationship with the congregation for at least the next year as we all settle into what comes next.

The staff and board will take some time to assess where we are and what’s needed next, and to identify how we will hold the pieces of Rev. Ashley’s portfolio across staff and lay leadership roles. We are grateful that Rev. Laura will continue with us in her role as Assistant Minister. As a whole congregation, we will continue to take those three intentional breaths that help us center ourselves in the present moment, looking ahead to the unfolding of our shared future, and holding it together.

In gratitude,

Rev. Jen Crow and Board President Marc Gorelick