dear members and friends of university baptist church:

This past weekend, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the date of your selection of me as your pastor. After much prayerful discernment, I’m writing to let you know of my intention to retire from active ministry, effective May 31, 2026.

As most of you know, my wife Kim retired four years ago. Since that time, I have had a major medical scare that you lovingly saw me through. While I feel relatively fine, it reinforced my belief that my time is precious. I want to travel and have adventures while my energy and health are intact.

Deciding when to leave has been very hard. I love the people of UBC and the ministry that we have shared. There are initiatives that we’ve completed and some that are just getting underway. I have every confidence that UBC is and will continue to be a creative and courageous community rooted in justice and working for peace, as you have been for over 175 years. I’ve been honored and humbled to have played a small part in our ongoing story.

I expect the coming months to be a time when we continue to celebrate this wonderful community. The council is working with our denominational leaders to secure interim leadership.

As part of my covenant with you, I will abide by the American Baptist Minister’s Council Code of Ethics which states in part: “upon my resignation or retirement, I will discontinue my ministerial leadership roles with my former constituents and will not make ministerial contacts in the field of another ministerial leader without request and/or consent.” In practical matters, this means that I will cease to contact people that I know from UBC for up to two years, including social media. I won’t be available for weddings, funerals, dedications or baptisms. This is not intended to diminish the deep friendships that we have, but to enable the congregation to fully embrace new leadership. I’ll be your biggest cheerleader from afar.

Again, I want to thank you for nurturing me and my family over these 25 years. I am immensely proud of the ministry we have shared. I look forward to continuing to connect with each of you in the coming months.

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Blessings and Peace,

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Doug Donley