“Rev. Jennie is the seasoned professional her references told us she is.”

“Rev. Jennie is organized, thoughtful, well-prepared, and gracious. She connects well with us Midwesterners and is conscientious, hard-working, positive, cheerful, and has had many good suggestions that we gratefully follow. The lack of complaints of any kind about her is rather amazing.”

“Rev. Jennie made a real effort to learn and understand our history, even constructing a detailed timeline from our 1950 beginning to the present. She has had the insight and courage to help us talk about and work through some of the issues left over from the tenures of previous ministers. Her enthusiasm, energy, good humor, and consistently optimistic outlook for the future of our church has been contagious in the congregation as we anticipate the call of our next settled minister.”

“Rev. Barrington has been extremely instrumental in preparing us for this next new venture. With her leadership and guidance, we see new enthusiasm for the future, the new minister, and new growth. The lay leadership of the congregation has blossomed and many people have stepped up and supplied real leadership.”

“Rev. Barrington is VERY good at raising the needful issues in the congregation. She got plopped right into the middle of a roof falling apart and unfortunately this had to become a major issue within the midst of calling a new minister. She helped us to keep our priorities focused. She raised issues involving Religious Education, our staffing, our finances, and our future. Courageous is a good word because sometimes her voice was not always popular, but her continued conviction about what she believed were the most needful issues is something respected within the congregation. She is a very organized, efficient, and practical person. She has done an excellent job as our Interim Minister.”

“Rev. Barrington was asked to visit members in the hospital and at home when they were sick or facing surgery. She always made herself available and changed her personal schedule many times to be available for families during times of loss and grief. As a congregation, we lost too many members these past two years to death. Rev. Barrington has officiated a large number of memorial services and provided an excellent source of spiritual care to the church family and the families of those persons who have passed. There are many other events, seminars, etc., that various members of our congregation have asked Rev. Barrington to take an active part in. She always showed a willingness to participate and assist in whatever way she was able.”

“Rev. Barrington came to our congregation at a time when we were trying to get ourselves back on track. She stepped in and led us, helping us determine what the congregation needed. She helped get us on a firmer footing in preparation for a settled minister. Her strengths were in the area of helping us articulate our needs as a congregation. She had a clear vision of what was needed on our part and helped us achieve that vision. Thanks to her interim leadership, we now have called our new minister.”

“I knew from my first contact that Rev. Jennie had something special. And it didn’t take long to understand her many gifts. Her knowledge comes from wide experience with several congregations. Through sermons, gatherings, and personal contact, she consistently offered a platform of self-discovery and examination of our character”

“Every time Rev. Jennie is in the pulpit, she weaves a beautiful story. She has worked tremendously well with all staff, making sure the Sunday services are cohesive, flowing, and touching. This is surely one of her strengths. Rev. Jennie’s assistance with and connection to the Coming of Age students was right on. She connected immediately in her words to the group. She offered continuous praise, nudging them with questions to think about and provided enthusiasm and guidance.”

“Rev. Jennie’s worship services have been especially well-integrated. The readings, children’s stories, and music, along with original, thoughtful, and relevant sermons, are always theme-based. Often inspirational, always thought-provoking, and well-worth hearing, her sermons have been based on her own life experiences, current events, and the life of our church, as well as theological wisdom and Unitarian Universalism.”

“Rev. Jennie has been fantastic during her time as interim at our church. I suspect that her most notable accomplishment will have been spearheading the congregation’s first capital campaign, which has been a rousing success. Perhaps less obvious is what she has brought to the search process for a settled minister. She has been both a sounding board and a cheerleader, and seems to have a good feel for when to be which. The fact that Rev. Jennie has the traits that make a good interim minister, and she works well on the two-year timeline, and she apparently enjoys the position, is, for lack of a more appropriate phrase, a real blessing for the faith. We at the UU Congregation of Columbia have benefited greatly from our association with her and wish her well.”