Goodbye from Jessica Meis: July 15, 2022

Hi UCE,

Most of you hopefully read Sandra’s column last week announcing my resignation from UCE. I have been attending graduate school at Columbia College Chicago since the Fall of 2021 and I’ve learned a lot. This program has also opened up some amazing opportunities for my future career, so it is time to say goodbye to you all for now.

What will I be doing? Along with continuing my program at Columbia, there are two opportunities that start at the end of this month/beginning of August. First, I was offered to lead a hospitality team at Lollapalooza, the music festival in Chicago. This will be a great opportunity to serve in a leadership role and help put on a fun event for music lovers. Second, I will be serving as the Collections Assistant at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MOCP) at Columbia starting in August. With an undergraduate degree in Art History and Latin American Studies, I have always wanted to work in a museum where I can help reshape the traditional Eurocentric narrative around art and culture to be more inclusive and reflective of our communities. This is my next step towards that goal and I’m excited to see where it will lead after I finish graduate school. If you see me at Lollapalooza or the MOCP, don’t hesitate to say “Hello!”

Thank you for being such an awesome community. Your passion for social justice and the environment, and care for one another has been inspiring. I have been so honored to serve you all. My last almost three years at UCE have been a time of growth for myself and UCE. I have seen a beautiful transformation of UCE’s building and grounds through the various Capital Campaign projects, as well as, an important transformation in this community through the interim work with Rev. Karen Gustafson and the continued work through the Membership Engagement Task Force and the Anti-Oppression Task Force.

Thank you all for your patience, kind wishes, and encouragement along the next steps in my journey. My last day at UCE will be July 27, so I will continue to serve you all as Communications Coordinator to the best of my abilities until then. Rev. Eileen and Sandra are actively searching for my replacement in the office. If you know of anyone with administrative office experience, please direct them towards the job listing on Indeed.

I look forward to seeing you continue to grow and transform as you nurture the human spirit for a world made whole. I hope to remain as a friend of this congregation and will always cherish my time serving UCE. May our paths cross again in the future.

Thank you for being you,
Jessica Meis
She/Her/Hers