On Sunday, June 28, the Members and Friends of JRUUC bid Rev. Karen “farewell and thank you” with a reception after her final worship service. At the reception, attendees had a chance to write on paper hearts messages of gratitude and well wishes for Rev. Karen to take with her to her new home in Lincoln, NE. The sanctuary was decorated with floral bouquets, and fruit salad and cake (regular and gluten free) was served. A huge thank you to all who set up/cleaned up, and/or supplied fruit salad, cake, flowers, and paper hearts. 

Rev. Karen’s last day with JRUUC was June 30th. You can read Rev. Karen’s April 2nd email to the congregation about her decision to make the move here. You can also listen to her reflection from her last service here.

Needing to Contact Someone For Help?

Before our new interim minister arrives in August, visit the Contact Us page on our website for information about who to contact. If you need help getting in touch with someone, email our office administrator, Bryan Rainey, at office@jruuc.org, and he will guide you in the right direction. Stay tuned for more information about our interim ministry!

Please contact our Caring Tree coordinators at care@jruuc.org if you would like pastoral care, and they’ll reach out to our Affiliated Community Minister, Rev. Bowie Kling-Garcia. Rev. Bowie is providing pastoral care until our Interim Minister, Rev. Denise Cawley, joins us August 3. 

Please also contact care@jruuc.org if you need tangible support or if you’d like to be a person who offers help through the Caring Tree. Learn more here about what we offer here.

Our Contacts page has staff contact info and rentals info, and our Teams & Committees page has a long list of other contact information for groups and activities.

Interim Minister Rev. Cawley Starts in August

The Interim Search Committee and Board of Trustees are absolutely thrilled to announce that Rev. Denise Cawley will be joining JRUUC as our interim minister on August 3, 2026. The first Sunday service with Rev. Denise is planned for August 9th. Meet and greet opportunities to come!

Rev. Denise’s first service at Reeb will be August 9th.

Learn more about Rev. Cawley here!

On Sundays Between Ministers

Your Worship Team has arranged for Sunday Services to continue with lots of involvement from members and friends of the congregation! You can find information about upcoming services here.

Rev. Karen Farewell Reception: Thank Yous

Thank you to the following folks for creating a lovely farewell reception:

• Paper Hearts: Carin Bringelson 
• Floral Bouquets: Jeanette Clawson, Eva Wingren
• Fruit Salad: Laura Whittemore, Renee Buchanan
• GF Cake: Vera LeoneSheet Cake: Virginia Harrison
• Set Up: Jean Skinner, Laura Whittemore, Sophie Hannauer, Sharon Kohli (and others)
• Clean Up: Laura Whittemore, Mary Schaper, Mike Clawson, Heike Saynisch (and others)
• Organizer: Viriginia Harrison, President-Elect

And thanks to Rev. Karen for all she has shared with JRUUC over the last twelve years. We wish you well.

Rev. Karen Armina gave our congregation the gift of a chalice, along with this note:

May you hold the love, the courage, and the strength that you learn and practice together, and do everything you can to move them out into the world, knowing that you have enough and that you are enough.

Dear Ones,

Thank you for ordaining me into the UU ministry, and for teaching me so much about what that means. May the flame of this chalice remind you of the Love that dwells within, between, and around us all.

In faith and love,

Karen