Steve Wilmarth first came to UUCSS with his former wife, Jenny Kelley, in search of a good religious education program for their kids Bryan and Ellie. At his first service he read the Seven Principles on the back of the Order of Service and was amazed, as he had never seen anything like it before. Rev. Liz Lerner Maclay preached an amazing sermon. The first person he met was Beth Riggs, who gave him a copy of a photo directory to help him get to know people. He joined the Sunday Support Team and was a member of Jean Sickel’s team for years. It was a great way to get to know people at UUCSS. He also joined an In-Reach Group whose members included the beloved Joan Lorr, Carol Hamilton, and Lorraine Sorrel. Lorraine Sorrel was his gateway to becoming a UUCSS musician—when an accompanist was unable to accompany Deb Thornton on guitar one Sunday, Lorraine suggested Steve substitute in. Shortly after that, Steve joined the recently formed house band. His first time performing lead electric guitar for the band was playing “Let the River Run” for Water Communion. Steve remains a member of the band to this day. Steve and Jenny also were co-chairs of the Annual Budget Drive one year and were active in Families LUUV.
In 2017, Steve was asked to finish out the last year of Doug Weisberger’s board term. UUCSS was experiencing challenges following the departures of Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley and Rev. Liz Lerner Maclay and Steve knew it was time to “step in or step out.” He chose to step in and finish out the term. Steve discovered that he loved serving on the board. He loved the intelligence, incisiveness, and care with which decisions were made and all viewpoints brought in and considered. He enjoyed the camaraderie among the members. At the end of his one-year term, he asked to be nominated for a full three-year term. This year as a member of the Board he serves as the Chair of the Operations Council, which is composed of the four operations committees. Based on his work with the Board, Steve is now optimistic about the direction of UUCSS. He is very excited to meet our new minister and see what UUCSS does next.