Midweek Message April 22, 2026

Beloveds, 

       Several weeks ago we shared the congregation’s covenant with me. If you missed it or would like a refresher- here it is:

Covenant Between the Congregation of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville and the Reverend Charlotte Arsenault

With open hearts and hopeful spirits,
we, the Congregation of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, joyfully welcome the Reverend Charlotte Arsenault, as our Lead Minister and spiritual companion.

We know that for our shared ministry to flourish,
trust must be deep, vulnerability honored, and accountability embraced.

We covenant to journey beside Rev. Charlotte in mutual care,
together creating a culture of kindness, courage, and connection—  embodying love, which is the spirit of this church.

We welcome her spiritual guidance to comfort and to challenge, to awaken new dimensions of our spiritual lives, and to call us into deeper meaning through worship, word, and witness.

We trust her to lead with wisdom and heart,
holding the well-being of this congregation close in all she does.
We support her as she carries our shared values into the wider world, speaking boldly for justice and championing the name of love.

We honor the fullness of her life beyond this ministry.
We pledge to respect her time, her boundaries, her home, and her beloveds— recognizing her humanity, her need for rest, and the sacredness of her family.

Together, minister and congregation,
we forge this covenant in faith, hope and love.

You may be wondering, “Hey- what about your promises to us, though?” Truthfully, my promises to you are my contract with the church which lays out in great detail the expectations of my services to the congregation as well as the expectations around my ethics and behavior. I am also in covenant with the UU Minister’s Association which holds me to high standards in my professional and personal boundaries with the congregation. That being said, there are promises I would like to make to FUUN.  During the installation service on Saturday I will share some of these promises but I would like to take the opportunity to say more here.

As the newly installed Lead Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, I promise to:

Place the health of the congregation above all else. This includes doing my part to ensure the ongoing physical, spiritual and financial safety of FUUN. 

I promise to serve you faithfully- to model leadership that is transparent, open-minded, vulnerable, and accountable.

I promise to always abide by our safe congregations rules and procedures while championing our children and youth.

I promise to nurture trust in my relationships with congregants, appreciating FUUN’s past but not allowing us to be limited by it. 

I promise to travel by your side through life’s unpredictable moments, holding you in tender care through the struggles and rejoicing with you through the triumphs. 

I promise to value the shared ministry we are creating and sustaining together, recognizing the deep well of gifts our congregation holds. 

I promise to show up in the wider community to advocate for our values in public and to work to make our part of the world better reflect those values. 

I promise to embody liberation, through word and action, from structural and cultural forces of oppression, which include but are not limited to: white supremacy, homo/transphobia, sexism, ableism, and classism.

I promise to care for our staff and do my best to help nurture a workplace culture that empowers creativity, interdependence, and flexibility while honoring the complexity of the human experience.
Lastly, I promise to never forget what a privilege it is to serve this congregation and this faith as my life’s calling. 

With tremendous gratitude, 

Rev. Charlotte