Erica Anderson grew up Catholic in northeastern Pennsylvania, but Catholicism had never held much meaning for her. After a time of being unchurched and now out of college she began looking for the community that a church provides. Erica found the UU Fellowship of Centre County in State College, Pa. which was much more in…
The Southern Baptist world knew that Tamara Bowman, age 12, was trouble when she added Christianity to a comparative mythology paper. For many years, after going off to college, Tamara was happy to be free of religion. That was until her daughter Elise, age 4, started asking questions, such as why her friends couldn’t do play dates on Sunday and who was…
Veronika Martin grew up in a non-religious household in Germany, which was not unusual. When her family moved to the US in 1976, she was somewhat surprised that people were always asking her to come to church with them. Over time her response became that she was a universalist with a small “u” as most spiritual practices “were a valid path to…
The first thing you notice about Steve Hirsch is his smile. It is a lovely smile delivered with a glint in the eye whether he’s talking about his latest (non) hairstyle or the long hard slog of the Search Committee. At its core it shows a delight in learning and working with people, two hallmarks…
Jake Ryder does not remember a time growing up when he wasn’t attending UUCSS. Kids RE, OWL, Coming of Age and YRUU were all tucked away before starting at Rochester Institute of Technology. While pursuing degrees in networking and cyber security he developed a real interest in criminal justice, particularly concerning the unequal treatment of…
Mary Beth Lerner grew up in a household committed to social justice or as she put it “it was the air I breathed.” For many years social justice work took a back burner to an acting career in New York followed by teaching high school English and raising three children in the DC area. Attending…
Emily Harris was a regular church goer as a child but became disillusioned with religion as an adult, and after a family tragedy rejected theism. There were still good memories of what a church could be – supportive, loving, nurturing- but dogma and prejudice got in the way. Seeing how church communities supported their family…
Jean Snell remembers hearing “Eternal Spirit of Life” at All Souls’, DC and suddenly feeling at home. While her parents Presbyterian Church in Utah had been loving and supportive, she never believed in the Trinity. All Souls’ had the diverse community she loved and the intellectual honesty that she valued. That diversity was lost when…
John Henderson grew up UU in Des Moines, Iowa, and then later in the Princeton, New Jersey, UU church. Like many college students, he wandered off from UUism through college and law school. When he and Patti Poss moved to the DC area, they briefly attended All Souls but quickly found UUCSS to be a comfortable fit. The things that drew and…
Carol Hamilton has identified as a Unitarian-Universalist all her life. She came to UUCSS in 1996 in search of religious education for her eight-year-old daughter. Yassi Davoodi. She became involved in UUCSS and she and Yassi enjoyed going to UUCSS’s annual retreat at Catoctin, but as a single mother, she said no to frequent requests…