November 2022 Member Spotlight – Brian Hopkins

Brian Hopkins grew up in the Methodist church and has fond memories of the camaraderie and caring that church community provided.  His parents were deeply religious, and he saw in them a commitment to love and volunteering.  Alas, the Methodist view of God did not square with his work, decades of recording mayhem for News Channel 8/ABC7 as a videographer.  He saw no way a loving, all-powerful God would let that evil exist and so he became unchurched for a long time.  His sister, a UU minister, suggested that maybe Unitarian-Universalism would be a good place to be and so after a bit of searching, he found UUCSS.  He introduced himself and was met with an immediate and warm welcoming response.

If you know Brian, you know about his incandescent smile followed as often as not with a great hug for his friends which include most people.  You might also know him from his work as a worship associate and the endearing way he doesn’t take himself seriously.  Dig a little deeper and you find a man committed to his family who would dearly like to find time to do more.  He met his wife volunteering and loves being part of a caring community. But the life of a TV cameraman is often unscheduled, and he gave up choir to have more time with his wife and kids. 

There are some things that Brian can fit in.  He likes taking pictures on vacation.  He likes barbecue and singing karaoke “stone cold sober”.  He attends marching band performances that his son Jake and daughter Kaylee play in when he’s not on assignment.  And he loves walking into the church on Sunday morning and thinking of a song by Billy Joel called Home.  Brian wants a license plate that says “EZ2BNice” but that’s more letters than are allowed.  But for him it’s his own best way to live and love at UUCSS.