What others say . . .
"She is a compelling preacher, crafting
sermons that draw on personal story and theory, and weaving relevant themes
throughout the service. In terms of religious education, she not only assembles
age-appropriate curriculum, but she is a gifted volunteer manager, anticipating
people’s needs and ensuring processes to help volunteers be their best. This
skill also strengthens her effectiveness as a social justice advocate. She
clearly communicates the issue, builds relationships with people, and organizes
them in order to achieve success on campaign."
~ Rev. Tera Little, Congregational Life Staff, UUA, Pacific Southwest District and Minister, Throop Church, Pasadena, CA.
"She is articulate and passionate, works extremely well with others both in a leadership role and when in a group where she is not the leader. She works hard. She listens well to others, is sensitive to the needs of others, but is also willing and able to be clear and take stands when appropriate. Sara is also curious, and this is one of her main strengths, I believe. She is active in social justice issues and has taken a leadership role on within the congregation on several issues. I have been in ministry for 30 years, and in that time have supported a number of people who have felt called to ministry, but Sara is the only person in that I have actively encouraged. She has all the skills and personal qualities to be a superb minister."
~ Rev. Dr. James Nelson, Senior Minister, Neighborhood UU Church of Pasadena
"Sara knows that it takes courage to be a leader and has tuned her voice to speak to social injustices and human imperfections that impede the process of growth and development. She shows a depth of understanding of how social systems advantage some and disadvantage others. As a minister-educator who has a good understanding of her own life-privileges, she knows how to build a community of learners/actors to bring new ways thinking, feeling and action to bear. And, because people see her as a mixture of serious-but-fun, she can get things done. The deftness of her skills were in full evidence during our Senior Vespers [during graduation weekend]. As you can imagine, it was a high-stakes sermon, complete with strong emotions and high expectations. Sara rose to the occasion with her characteristic good humor, keen intellect, and ability to engage colleagues, a faculty who have heard years of student-sermonizing, and guests who bring their own set of uneven expectations to the exercise. People are still talking about the service, and about Sara."
~ Dr. Mark Hicks, Angus MacLean Professor of Religious Education, Meadville-Lombard Theological School
"Sara is highly intelligent and quick-witted. She displays a good knowledge of UUism, theology, and other religious traditions. Her background in theater no doubt contributes to her creative abilities, especially where it comes to writing and delivering sermons, and crafting worship that beautifully reflects the sermon theme. She is a woman of great integrity and honesty, often able to articulate clearly how particular decisions do or do not reflect our UU principles and values. People like Sara a lot, because not only is she warm, compassionate and wise, she's a lot if fun as well. And she shows up--she is present in the life of the church, which is so very important in the building and sustaining of religious community."
~ Rev. Anne Felton Hines, Minister Emerita, Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park
"When I heard that Sara would begin working with our congregation as our ministerial intern, I was both excited and intimidated—I hoped to benefit from her years of experience with RE at a much larger church, but I didn’t want to have to defend or excuse the way I ran my little program. Fortunately, Sara addressed my concerns very gracefully, very early on in her relationship with Emerson. She began the conversation with praising the work I was doing and said that she would be happy to serve as a resource for me, but that—if it was okay with me—she would largely stay “hands off” the RE program, since this was her opportunity to explore other aspects of congregational life and to get to know a church of a very different size and structure. I was really touched by both the professional respect. I’ve never seen Sara put ego before being willing to learn; she is a great teacher and leader, but I also respect and appreciate her ability to step back graciously, observe, listen, and gain from the experience and knowledge of others.
~ Emmalinda MacLean, Director of Religious Education, Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park
~ Rev. Tera Little, Congregational Life Staff, UUA, Pacific Southwest District and Minister, Throop Church, Pasadena, CA.
"She is articulate and passionate, works extremely well with others both in a leadership role and when in a group where she is not the leader. She works hard. She listens well to others, is sensitive to the needs of others, but is also willing and able to be clear and take stands when appropriate. Sara is also curious, and this is one of her main strengths, I believe. She is active in social justice issues and has taken a leadership role on within the congregation on several issues. I have been in ministry for 30 years, and in that time have supported a number of people who have felt called to ministry, but Sara is the only person in that I have actively encouraged. She has all the skills and personal qualities to be a superb minister."
~ Rev. Dr. James Nelson, Senior Minister, Neighborhood UU Church of Pasadena
"Sara knows that it takes courage to be a leader and has tuned her voice to speak to social injustices and human imperfections that impede the process of growth and development. She shows a depth of understanding of how social systems advantage some and disadvantage others. As a minister-educator who has a good understanding of her own life-privileges, she knows how to build a community of learners/actors to bring new ways thinking, feeling and action to bear. And, because people see her as a mixture of serious-but-fun, she can get things done. The deftness of her skills were in full evidence during our Senior Vespers [during graduation weekend]. As you can imagine, it was a high-stakes sermon, complete with strong emotions and high expectations. Sara rose to the occasion with her characteristic good humor, keen intellect, and ability to engage colleagues, a faculty who have heard years of student-sermonizing, and guests who bring their own set of uneven expectations to the exercise. People are still talking about the service, and about Sara."
~ Dr. Mark Hicks, Angus MacLean Professor of Religious Education, Meadville-Lombard Theological School
"Sara is highly intelligent and quick-witted. She displays a good knowledge of UUism, theology, and other religious traditions. Her background in theater no doubt contributes to her creative abilities, especially where it comes to writing and delivering sermons, and crafting worship that beautifully reflects the sermon theme. She is a woman of great integrity and honesty, often able to articulate clearly how particular decisions do or do not reflect our UU principles and values. People like Sara a lot, because not only is she warm, compassionate and wise, she's a lot if fun as well. And she shows up--she is present in the life of the church, which is so very important in the building and sustaining of religious community."
~ Rev. Anne Felton Hines, Minister Emerita, Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park
"When I heard that Sara would begin working with our congregation as our ministerial intern, I was both excited and intimidated—I hoped to benefit from her years of experience with RE at a much larger church, but I didn’t want to have to defend or excuse the way I ran my little program. Fortunately, Sara addressed my concerns very gracefully, very early on in her relationship with Emerson. She began the conversation with praising the work I was doing and said that she would be happy to serve as a resource for me, but that—if it was okay with me—she would largely stay “hands off” the RE program, since this was her opportunity to explore other aspects of congregational life and to get to know a church of a very different size and structure. I was really touched by both the professional respect. I’ve never seen Sara put ego before being willing to learn; she is a great teacher and leader, but I also respect and appreciate her ability to step back graciously, observe, listen, and gain from the experience and knowledge of others.
~ Emmalinda MacLean, Director of Religious Education, Emerson UU Church, Canoga Park