Rev. James Ishmael Ford Endorses Rev. Laurel Hallman For UUA President

U*U blogger Rev. James Ishmael Ford, Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Society of Newton, Massachusetts has publicly endorsed Rev. Laurel Hallman as his choice for the next President of the Unitarian*Universalist Association of Congregations aka the UUA. Here are Rev. Ford`s exact words, as reproduced on Rev. Laurel Hallman`s Elect Laurel Hallman for President of the UUA web site.

I have been an admirer of Laurel Hallman for many years. She is at once grounded, practical and possessed of a soaring vision of transformation for us as individuals and for our world. I believe she is uniquely qualified to lead us in these next difficult years. I deeply hope Laurel Hallman will be our next Unitarian Universalist president.

Rev. James Ishmael Ford
Senior Minister
First Unitarian Society of Newton, MA

I can`t help but notice that Rev. James Ishmael Ford speaks of "these next difficult years" in his endorsement of Rev. Hallman. I can`t help but wonder just what he means by that turn of a phrase. In what ways does Rev. James Ishmael Ford believe that the coming years will be "difficult years" for the UUA or the Unitarian*Universalist religious community more generally? I hereby invite Rev. James Ishmael Ford to elaborate on just what he means by commenting on this blog post.