I go now to the land of fir and cedar. To a land of low mountains. And ocean. Fog and mist. Summer heat. Winter wet seeping cold. In search of the otter, the loon, the orca, the snapdragon, the osprey, the hawk, the eagle. To a place inhabited by rain. I bring with me an opened space in my soul. A space carved by Montana. A space carved also by all of you as we have encountered one another. I carry with me memories still too close to visit. I wrap them close around my heart. I carry with me an unshakeable sense of Mystery. I have come into the peace of wild things. I have rested in the grace of the world and been freed.

For the full text of "You Can't Tell Me There's No Mystery", click here.

Audio Link

Greetings UUs and Friends,

The Interim Task Force is pleased to announce that Reverend Jackie Ziegler has accepted our offer of a one-year position as Interim Minister with UUFB with an option for a one-year renewal if we do not have a settled minister match next year. She will be visiting Bozeman briefly to look for housing June 15 through June 20. Her contract with us begins August 15, 2010 and ends on August 12, 2011 unless it is renewed. Reverend Ziegler is and has been an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister since the mid 1990's. She has a Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard School of Theology and the University of Chicago Divinity School with an emphasis on ecological theology and the role of democracy in religion. She enjoys being physically fit, bicycling, swimming, race-walking, cross country skiing, and weight lifting.

She has ministered to congregations in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, been a settled minister in Boulder, CO, interim in Florida, and most recently interim and acting minister in Stockton, IL for the last four years. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her husband since 1977, Daniel Everett Ziegler, works in Port Washington, WI as a Registered Sanitarian in the County Health Department. They both share an abiding concern for the environment and nonhuman species, love going on wilderness trips together and have a deep love for the three marvelous felines that reside with them.

She has an adult son who works as a certified massage therapist and accomplished musician, phenomenal artist working with acrylics, and is a gourmet vegetarian cook. She is quite proud of him and stays in touch often.

Reverend Ziegler comes highly recommended by all the people the Interim Task Force spoke with. She brings to our congregation particular expertise with stewardship/fund-raising and with church organization and governance. The Interim Minister Task Force now turns over the welcoming of our new interim minister and helping her settle in Bozeman to the Transition Team.

We invite you to join us in welcoming Rev. Jackie Ziegler to Bozeman in late August.

Interim Task Force: Dean Littlepage, Elizabeth Rose, Rose Toth, Amanda Cater, Sara Williams, Buck Taylor

Transition Team Members: Rachel Rockafellow, Bob Sterling, Laura Mentch, Stephanie Kroner

June 2010