The best thing about Sherry Sanborne’s childhood Episcopal Church was the pageantry. There was good ritual and lovely stained glass. Christmas was especially good that way with the addition of evergreens in the sanctuary. That feeling didn’t survive going off to college and for most of her twenties she didn’t attend church except when visiting home.
After college and mulling over the idea of being a dance therapist, Sherry joined the Peace Corps for a two-year teaching assignment in Ghana. It was a hard adjustment, but valuable in finding inner reserves of strength, meeting diverse groups of people and being away from an America-centric view of the universe.
Her return to church coincided with marriage and the arrival of Austin and then Preston. Sherry taught RE when her sons were growing up and served on the Membership Committee and the Board of Trustees. One touchstone was the young parent’s group that involved families with same-age children. Tricia Hanson and Sheldon Cohen were also members of that group. Another touchstone was Gaia Circle. Courses like “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” opened the way to a broader paganism where ritual and evergreens found a new context, losing the stained glass but gaining Yule logs. That same pagan worldview infuses her love for gardening, inherited in part from her “Earth Mother” mom. In addition, she’s likes Tai Chi, dancing, and Zumba. Sherry loves reading mysteries and has enjoyed being part of the UUCSS’s Women’s Book Club and the Sunday Night Book Club, where she reads books she wouldn’t normally see and enjoys the intellectual stimulation and camaraderie.
After retiring, Sherry became more involved with UUCSS. She teaches religious education two times a month and almost every Sunday during the Summer. And recently she has been working with our commitment to Action in Montgomery (AIM) and feels positive about the empowerment it gives people in the community. Her background in survey research of child welfare and education makes her feel passionate about the need for universal Pre-K, after school programs and tenant rights for low-income children. Her sons tell her she’s busier now than before she retired. Asked what she’d like to tell the congregation, there is a deep appreciation for the people who make UUCSS happen, for the folks who welcomed her back after a period of nonattendance, and for the variety of people and views that make UUCSS special.