Milestones

A chalice lit with people in the background — © UUA

Milestones—vital steps and transitions in our religious professionals' journeys—are compiled by the UUA’s Ministry and Faith Development staff group.
The UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee grants Preliminary Fellowship status to ministerial candidates who are qualified to pursue ordained ministry and grants Full Fellowship after a period of review, usually several years. Ordination takes place when a congregation votes to ordain someone a minister. Interim ministers are hired for a year or two by a congregation to help prepare for the next settled minister. Developmental ministers address longstanding concerns specific to individual congregations. Contract ministers are hired on renewable terms. Departures occur when ministers leave their ministerial positions. Retirements are when a minister retires, usually at the end of a church year. The title Emeritus/Emerita is bestowed by congregations on ministers to honor years of meritorious leadership and service.
Don’t see your Ministerial Transition included in this list? Please fill out the appropriate form below to let our Transitions Office know. Your transition will be included in the next edition of Milestones on uuworld.org.
Notice of Ministerial Transition
Notice of Ministerial Call or Hire

Spring/Summer 2024 Milestones

Preliminary Fellowship

Kathryn Adams, Rebecca Bernard, Jill Braithwaite, Kristin Famula, Patti Hanks, Alyssa Lee, Vanessa Lynn Titang, Jud Wolfskill.

Full Fellowship

Margalie Belizaire, Israel Buffardi, Eileen Casey-Campbell, Kristina M. Church, Jon Coffee, Jaimie Dingus, Sally Fritsche, Rebecca Gant, Scot Hull, Rodney Lemery, Micah C. Ma, Arif Mamdani, Matthew Michael McHale, Erica Federspiel Richmond, Ruth Rinehart, Katy Kroll Swanson, Zackrie Vinczen, Lee Anne Washington, Amanda Jean Weatherspoon, Elizabeth Weber.

Ordained

Susan Panttaja, UU Church of the Monterey Peninsula, Napa Valley UUs, and UU Congregation of Santa Rosa, Calif.; Dee Evans, Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation and First Unitarian Church of Alton (in process of name change to Metro East UU Congregation), Ill.; Tina DeYoe, Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, N.Mex.; Tori Rosati, First Universalist Church of Essex and UU Church of Haverhill, Mass.; Kathryn Adams, UU Congregation of Frederick, Md., and Accotink UU Church, Va.; Sabrina Trupia, UU Congregation at Montclair, N.J.; Cory Wells Lovell, UU Congregation of Marin, Calif.

Began Contract Ministry

Rebecca Benefiel Bijur, Santa Clarita, Calif. (UUs of Santa Clarita Valley); Alison Duren-Sutherland, Des Moines, Wash. (Saltwater UU Church).

Departed Settled Ministry

Diana K. Davies, Oklahoma City, Okla. (First Unitarian Church); Lydia Ferrante-Roseberry, Lafayette, Colo. (Boulder Valley); Schuyler Vogel, New York, N.Y. (Fourth Universalist Society).

Departed Contract Ministry

Megan Visser, Santa Clarita, Calif. (UUs of Santa Clarita Valley).

Resigned Fellowship

Craig Schwalenberg.

Retired

Rachel K. Anderson, Karen A. Foster, Jeffrey B. Gamblee, Don Garrett, Kathleen McTigue, Emily Melcher, Benjamin Walker Meyers, Elaine Beth Peresluha.

Ministers Emeritae

Becky Edmiston-Lange, Houston, Tex. (Emerson UU Church); Sharon K. Dittmar, Cincinnati, Ohio, (First Unitarian Church).

Chaplain Board Certification

C. L. Curole, Lee Legault, Elizabeth Haralam Shuba, Karyn Bergmann Marsh, Elizabeth Murphy.

Clergy Deaths

For clergy obituaries, please visit the UU Ministers Association’s website.