I serve Unitarian Universalism through my work as a minister and act out my faith in our congregations. I see covenant as a process we can use to build meaningful communities. In all I do, I seek to be calm, warm, and genuine.
I was born in central Massachusetts and adopted at birth. My adoptive parents were both simple, genuine people that worked hard and did their best to provide a good home. They were Catholic, but not consistently or intently. I completed all of the required Sacraments because that’s what I was told to do, but by fourteen I sensed the religion of my birth was not for me. They both worked a great deal, so I spent a lot of time with my adoptive maternal grandparents, who both had a profound impact on my early years. My grandfather was a fun loving, hard-living construction worker that taught me to fish and fix things. My grandmother was a strong woman with farming roots that loved to cook, had a big laugh, and had a way of making everyone feel at home. She taught me how to garden and tell stories.
When I was younger, I spent a lot of time reading and exploring in the woods. I got my first job at 12, and by high school I was working the maximum hours allowed for minors. I had parents that role-modeled hard work, but I also knew I didn’t want to be poor like they were. By sixteen I had purchased my own car and was pretty much taking care of myself.
No one in my adoptive family had been to college, and the whole idea seemed like a foreign concept (despite the insistence of my high school guidance counselor). I found the National Guard as a path to pay the tuition, and off I went. Even though I was eventually promoted to Sergeant, I decided not to re-enlist after having my bags packed and waiting for the call to deploy to Operation Desert Storm. That was not what I had signed up for. Even though it was.
I was continuously promoted in the military. The lessons I learned there were valuable in relating to congregants now as well as giving me a work ethic I take pride in to this day. That experience helped me send myself to college. While it was long ago, it is another varied experience that I bring to churches I serve and gives me a greater appreciation as to why we strive for peace. It is important to support military families while opposing war.
I was a child of the Vietnam war era. But by the time I was coming of age, there had been a long spell of relative peace (clearly spoken from my white privileged perspective. I am aware that my peaceful existence was entirely dependent on the suffering of a great many peoples). The point is, I grew up with little guidance, and only hazy awareness of the realities of this world. And I am also very aware of the fact that I benefitted from many doors being opened at several points along the way. And that help was likely granted because I embody a tall white male body.
My role as a father to my daughter Cece has taught me more than I ever dreamed. I enjoy spending time with her whenever I can.
During the last half a dozen years, I had a number of life altering experiences that helped me realign my life with my true self and highest values. After first slowing down my seminary and then graduating, I took time to work as a community minister preaching all over the country, renewing myself and reflecting on my next steps.
You can often find me fishing, cooking on the barbecue, and taking long walks in nature.
These are my spiritual practices. It is in doing these that I recover from ministerial stresses and access my calm.
My intention is to continue to strengthen my spiritual practices and to develop the resilience required to help shoulder the burdens of my chosen communities in the days and years to come.
I often write and work out sermon topics while I learn from nature.
I reunited with my birth family recently and this is a new source of learning and inspiration. They have traveled to see me preach and we are developing a new history together.
My ministerial formation experience provided a mirror by which I can finally see myself. I have learned how to hear and heed my own voice, and will continue to practice the art of living as intentionally, as mindfully, and as selflessly as feels balanced.
Recently, I took time to renew myself with a self-imposed sabbatical. This has given me the space to further develop my understanding of racial and LGBTQ justice issues.
I am serving as the Minister of Religious Education at Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. I love supporting that community, helping them to learn new ways of conflict resolution and covenantal leadership.
Serving remotely created an opportunity to move near my partner, another Unitarian Universalist minister.
