Caught in the Act of Generosity: Martha Ketelle

by Bill Slakey for the Radical Generosity Committee
When Martha Ketelle joined First Unitarian in 2011, she had a pretty good road map for finding her home in a new church. A lifelong Unitarian Universalist, she had served on the new member orientation team at her previous congregation, All Souls Unitarian, in Washington, D.C.
“One of the points we made to the group,” Martha says, “was how important it is to be involved in activities with other members to become part of the congregation. So I was taking my own advice when I arrived at First Unitarian.”

That path began with the Social Justice Committee, but it since has led to just about every corner of the congregation—and to creating lots of opportunities for others to engage. As current chair of the Landscape Committee, Martha looks out for the church’s considerable grounds, helping organize congregational work days and focusing on issues of climate change and sustainability. She has served on the Board, including two years as president; she currently chairs the Personnel Committee, and she is finishing a four-year stint on the Leadership Succession Committee (LSC).

Martha squeezes in all this generous work while living only half time in Albuquerque. At her other home in Colorado, she attends services at the UU Church of Boulder, but she says First Unitarian is where she knows lots of people and can volunteer and be effective.
With the two-year process to find a new senior minister beginning, it’s a critical time for members to get involved or stay involved—and there are always opportunities. For example, the LSC has a number of members whose terms are ending, even as it takes up the important job of selecting a ministerial search committee. Throughout the search, there will be lots of meaningful opportunities for congregation members to be engaged.

“What’s important to me,” Martha says, “is that we keep moving forward, incorporating the changing needs of our congregation.”