About Me
For nearly 20 years, I have called the Boston area my home. First arriving in June 2003, I pursued a doctorate at Harvard Divinity School. Graduating in 2012 with a ThD in Religion, Gender, and Culture, I then pivoted to pursue Unitarian Universalist ordination. While completing my ministerial internship at the UU Area Church in Sherborn, I concurrently taught adjunct courses at Brandeis University and Boston College as well as spending a semester as the UU Chaplain at Wellesley College. Ordained in April 2014, I began as the settled minister at First Parish in Wayland in August 2014.
In Wayland, I followed a very long and successful ministry. In the past nine years, we have learned together how to move congregational practices and worship into the 21st century. We have weathered the challenges of recent years well, expanding access through technology, retaining many if not all members, and welcoming in new members ranging from 3 years to over 70 years old. In short, I have helped to steward the community in difficult times to emerge as a vibrant, multi-generational, suburban congregation.
Throughout my ministry, I have sought to remain engaged in the academic world. I have served as co-chair of the Women and Religion Unit of the American Academy of Religion, as chair of Collegium: An Association for UU Studies, and as founding co-chair of the UU Studies Network (a merger of Collegium and the UU History and Heritage Society). Additionally, I am a Lecturer of UU Polity at Harvard Divinity School.
Prior to moving to the Boston area, I completed my Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and a BA in Philosophy at Wheaton College (IL). Born and raised in an evangelical Christian family in West Michigan, I am the middle child between two brothers. My parents, brothers, nephews and nieces all live in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. While no longer evangelical, my parents remain actively engaged in a large, downtown United Methodist congregation in Grand Rapids.
Currently I reside in Lincoln with my young adult son, Alek, who is enrolled at UMass Boston. I have a long-time companion, Bill, whose family roots extend to the founding of Boston. When not working, I love to camp in my small trailer, enjoy dinner with friends, or ideally both at the same time.
In Wayland, I followed a very long and successful ministry. In the past nine years, we have learned together how to move congregational practices and worship into the 21st century. We have weathered the challenges of recent years well, expanding access through technology, retaining many if not all members, and welcoming in new members ranging from 3 years to over 70 years old. In short, I have helped to steward the community in difficult times to emerge as a vibrant, multi-generational, suburban congregation.
Throughout my ministry, I have sought to remain engaged in the academic world. I have served as co-chair of the Women and Religion Unit of the American Academy of Religion, as chair of Collegium: An Association for UU Studies, and as founding co-chair of the UU Studies Network (a merger of Collegium and the UU History and Heritage Society). Additionally, I am a Lecturer of UU Polity at Harvard Divinity School.
Prior to moving to the Boston area, I completed my Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and a BA in Philosophy at Wheaton College (IL). Born and raised in an evangelical Christian family in West Michigan, I am the middle child between two brothers. My parents, brothers, nephews and nieces all live in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. While no longer evangelical, my parents remain actively engaged in a large, downtown United Methodist congregation in Grand Rapids.
Currently I reside in Lincoln with my young adult son, Alek, who is enrolled at UMass Boston. I have a long-time companion, Bill, whose family roots extend to the founding of Boston. When not working, I love to camp in my small trailer, enjoy dinner with friends, or ideally both at the same time.