Sean Randol grew up in Kansas City, Missouri attending Roman Catholic Mass weekly with his family. Despite the strict sense of duty in the air, he described his family as joyful. Yes, there was his “hippy” high school teacher talking about world religions, but things would only change when he left home for a small, upstate New York college. Without the structure of family and friends his attendance at Catholic services dropped off. A freshman trip to Thailand opened his mind to Buddhism and studying the Bible academically was eye opening leading to a minor in religion.
After a year of teaching English in Japan, Sean began working in the DC area. Zoe and Sean met through a mutual acquaintance. They had a wonderful experience at her Grandmother’s UU Church in Williamsburg, Va. They attended All Souls a few times and were married by the Minister from her father’s UU Church in Stow, MA. As first Simone and then Desmond came along, they started seeking a spiritual home. In 2018, after moving to Maryland for more space and proximity to work, they found UUCSS. They felt immediately welcomed by Gulnar Nagashybayeva and Robin Moore Lasky but took their time getting to know us while still exploring who they were religiously. They joined UUCSS in 2019.
In a lot of ways Sean could be considered a spiritual humanist. As a UUCSS board member leading the Operations Council, he has a belief verging on spiritual practice that if he listens carefully and acknowledges the experience and values of everyone he will grow as a person and everyone will succeed together. He’s had great interactions through the Book Club and working on events like Catoctin. Being a parent has been rewarding in the same way, with lots of events with the Cub and Girl Scouts creating opportunities to learn and experience new communities as a family. And in all of this Zoe has been an essential life partner, always asking how they can do the work of being a family better. There seems a continuous thread in Sean’s life from the family-based Catholicism of his youth to a richer mindfulness at UUCSS. That joy is why he’s here and it’s something he wishes for all of us.