The Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah

A billboard on Tybee Island proclaims, “Awesome is our God.” This reminds me that we often think of awe in terms of awe-struck: jaw-dropped, looking up to the heavens, to the stars, to a savior. There is power in this awe. There is also power in the awe of looking down, deep into the earth; looking around, at each other; looking inward, to our own awesome seeds that are curled in the dark starting to grow. At this time of solstice, let’s find the awe that surrounds us, in our light that can and must illuminate dark times.

This week we continue our interview with our new Minister, Rev. Susan Karlson, and learn more about her career in Social Work and the influences that led her to the UU Ministry.

How and when did you become interested in Social Work and what insights did your professional work give you?

I think I was always interested in social work. Giving back, collaborating and forming partnerships have been important to me as long as I can remember. In college, I had a mentor, Marian (Mackie) Hamilton who unleashed this liberal spirit and taught me about many things I had not considered before (I found out much later, she was a member of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk). I began to volunteer with Fair Housing, the United Farm Workers (I actually got to meet Cesar Chavez as president of the Sociology Club and worked with a migrant family organizing in Norfolk), the Juvenile Courts Friend Program and the VISTA volunteers who were doing lead paint abatement (where I first discovered the Unitarian Church of Norfolk that housed the VISTA volunteers). All of these experiences inspired me to go into social work as a result of the people I met and the ideas that sprang from working with them. 

When I first entered the social work profession, I worked at the Gateways halfway house under the Mentally Disordered Offenders program (not politically correct title at all) in Los Angeles, California. The men I worked with had been judged not guilty by reason of insanity and came to the halfway house after being in state mental hospitals. I learned about the legal system, self-care and universal love through this program. The position that most inspired me was my work as a Child Sexual Abuse Services advocate, working with children and non-offending parents through a Victims of Crime Assistance grant. I facilitated groups as well as trained group leaders and did play therapy with many of the children. That position allowed me to work with the whole community—therapists in many different organizations as well as Child Protective Services. It was a powerful experience to assist a whole community and watch the community's various components come together to help children and their families heal and realize their own natural resilience come alive again.

What caused you to decide to be a UU minister?

There is a background to my call to the Unitarian Universalist ministry that you should know. When I lived in California, I had been ordained as a minister of yoga and had a yoga teaching center in our house where I taught classes and held meditation sessions. My ex-husband, our daughter and I moved to an ashram in central Virginia where we lived for four years. When my marriage ended and my daughter and I moved to Charlottesville, I eventually found the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church in town and became an active member of the church, involved in the Pastoral Associates, Worship Associates, Undoing Racism and the Social Justice committee. I also was chair of an Intern Committee and worked with another intern on Pastoral Care. When I attended the Ordination of one of our interns, I was moved to tears. I remember singing “Spirit of Life” and "Rank by Rank”. I lay awake that night, tossing and turning, feeling that initial call to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. At that time, I was a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice. I knew that going to seminary and working towards becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister were going to demand much from me. I talked to a number of ministers who had all kinds of advice for me—from "if you can do anything else, then do that. But if you can't, give it your all" to "you can always say no and if you are meant to be a Unitarian Universalist minister, you will keep getting the call". I thought that I had done every kind of lay ministry and I just kept feeling the call. I entered seminary in the fall of 1999, and graduated in 2003 after an incredible experience at Wesley Seminary and an awesome internship at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis. 

Contact: Judy Gauthier - jwgauthier@att.net

Dec 15 - Carolyn Upton

Dec 22 - Bob and Sylvia Shuey

Dec 29 - Karen and Chuck McHugh

Jan 5 - Open

Jan 12 - Open

Jan 19 - Open