Introducing Rev. Pam Rumancik
From Our Board President
Hello Countryside friends and members –
As we conclude our two years of Interim Ministry with Reverend Denise, it’s time to get to know Reverend Pam Rumancik, who will be starting her time with CCUU as our Contract Minister, on August 1.
Today, we share Reverend Pam’s introductory letter, which includes a link to her website that is filled with fun and interesting information. Then, in a few weeks, we’ll follow-up with a short interview where I ask Reverend Pam a few get-to-know-you questions.
Reverend Pam’s first day in the pulpit will be on September 8, when she will lead our In-gathering service. During the month of August Reverend Pam will be in the office, meeting our staff, planning the church year and getting to know some of our members. We’ll let you know which days she plans to be in the office (most likely 4 days a week) – we hope you’ll be able to stop in and welcome her!
I’ve had a few get-togethers with Reverend Pam, and I have loved her thoughtful questions, her quiet compassion, and her insight about what church might bring to us in the world we live in today. I have also thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her winding path into ministry. I think you will find her a deep and caring soul.
~ Lisa Gilley
From Rev. Pam Rumancik
Hello friends that I haven’t yet met – I am excited to get to know you and to discover what calls you forward into life. My time begins August 1st and I look forward to meeting you and listening to your hopes and dreams for the coming year – and for the future of Church. The world had been changing rapidly already but it seemed like it sped up exponentially since the pandemic. I am incredibly curious as to what Church both with a big C and church as it pertains to CCUU, might look like in the months and years to come.
What do you need? What will your kids and grandchildren require?
Where should we put our focus and our gifts?
Can we recover traits like patience? Connection to ancestors? Awareness of the seven generations yet to come?
Can we step beyond the perpetual ‘us and them’ divisions to find an authentic ‘we’?
Ministry has been my vocation for the past 12 years, but before that I spent a lot of time exploring and experiencing various career paths. You can read about my adventures on my website but, in brief, I’ve run a childcare business, owned a restaurant (in Colorado), spent a year running a Food Truck at bluegrass festivals, ran a house painting business for over 15 years and made the radical decision to go to seminary at forty-three. Life has been eclectic, but throughout all of it I’ve known a deep connection to the holy otherness of life, and my myriad experiences inform the relationships I have and the work that I do.
Rev Karen Mooney, my wife of ten years and our two doodles, Parker & Ruthie, and I all live in Bull Valley, IL on a 3 acre plot we call Happy Wife Acres. (Yes, both wives are happy)
I listen to the trees – and the cicadas – and wonder about the world while working in our vegetable and native flowering plant gardens.
While the times around us are urgent, I strive to follow the teachings of Nigerian author, Bayo Akomolafe, trying each day to slow down. I look for tiny moments hidden in the rush of living and invite myself and those around me to remember our place in the wide natural world – that we belong, that each of us matters, that no one can be left behind.
My theological lens leans towards a grounded paganism with intentional humility and kindness. There is so much that I don’t know that I don’t know. Kindness is the only thing which really makes sense at this time. I enjoy deep conversations and learning about the lives and experiences of my fellow travelers. I love listening to the heartbeat of the world and to the impulses toward kindness and compassion that I see in those around me.
It will be delightful to begin our time together and figure out what we can do and be and learn. In the meantime, slow down and enjoy your summer. Autumn will be here before you know it.
Peace,
Rev Pam Rumancik