Jesse B. Coon Stewardship Award is presented with great appreciation for commitment, dedication, and loving contributions to the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Brazos Valley.
"Church is a place where you get to practice what it means to be human," James Luther Adams.
Jesse Coon Awardee
Joe Daigle
This year’s recipient of the UUCBV Jesse Coon Award joined our congregation in 2016. Immediately, Joe Daigle began to share not only his love for music and the fine arts – but his commitment to being the best human he could be.
When our beloved volunteer pianist for over 35 years, Ron Bryan, passed away a few years ago, Joe joined our staff as the Artist in Residence and shared his wonderful talents as a musician and singer. Via his ukulele lessons, he taught members and friends of the church to play an instrument – building our confidence while raising money for the congregation.
Inevitably, COVID visited our area of the world – and Joe’s world, as a middle school teacher, changed dramatically. He had no choice but to resign as our Artist in Residence. Fortunately, he did not resign his membership in our congregation AND he did not stop volunteering to provide music for our services and teaching ukulele when he could. He and his guitar have become a staple of many of our services.
His most recent visible contribution to the congregation was his service on the “Called Ministry Process Task Force.” Last month, he and four others on the task force brought us to this momentous decision today – a vote to call the Reverend Kiya Heartwood as our settled minister after many years of “temporary ministry.” In the team’s presentation last month, Joe urged us to think from the perspective of what is the “most good” for the church – not just for us individually – not just today – but day in and day out. He admits that even if it is not easy to do, it is one of his core values – live for the “most good” for all. He believes that having empathy and trying to see from another’s perspective creates the foundation for being a “good human.” And he is all about that.
He urges us, the members of UUCBV, to make decisions, not for this current moment, but for laying the foundation for future generations and to become a vibrant source of love for this community. Let’s join Joe in his hope that we continue to be a strong voice for justice and compassion – that we come together to make our collective voices so loud that everyone can hear our song. “If we can put ourselves aside, we can find a “good” for everyone that’s true” –Joe composed in his song “Be a Good Human.” There is no doubt that Joe is one of the prophetic voices that is a source of our faith. Let’s all follow his example of living in love.
For these reasons and others, the Board of Trustees proudly presents Joe Daigle with the UUCBV Jesse Coon Award for the 2021-22 church year. Congratulations, Joe!
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