Last updated: 05/24/2010

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Help With Worship
 

This information is provided as a service to congregations who are seeking speakers and performers for worship services. The UU District of Metropolitan New York assumes no responsibility for the content posted here or for the quality of the services provided. We recommend that you ask for and contact references to determine if the service provider will meet your needs. Be sure, too, to ask the service provider about fees or special equipment the service provider may require.

In addition to the Worship Service Providers listed below, click here for links to other online worship service resources.
 
If you would like to be included as a service provider, click here.
If you are already on the list and would like to update your information, click here.
 
Worship Service Providers
 
Name: Arthur R. Aldrich
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 845-357-7316
City and state of residence: Suffern, NY
Distance willing to travel: 150 miles
Service Description: Brave New World or 1984? Has humanism failed? George Orwell prophesied that external oppression would deprive us of our autonomy, maturity, and history. Huxley, on the other hand, warned us against adoring the technologies that would reduce our capacity to think. In other words, what we had come to love would destroy us. Which prophesy was correct?
 
Name: Tim Barger, M.Div., Ph.D.
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 312-607-2605
Service Description: A UU ministerial candidate who has designed services and delivered sermons including "Community in Communities," "Seven Principles for President Obama," "Books and the Spirituality of Reading," "Running the Labyrinth," and others. Home congregation is First Unitarian in Brooklyn. Graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School. Currently living in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Humanist in theology.
 
Name:  Rev. Leland Bond-Upson
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 646-896-1658
Service Description:  Experienced supply preacher, having conducted services in a majority of UU congregations in the Pacific Central District, plus five years as the regular preacher at UUs of Petaluma CA. Popular sermons include "Forging Our Own Deliverance," a homage to liberalism, "Cause, Effect, Good, Evil, Crime, Punishment," a utilitarian critique of our attitudes toward wrong-doing, "Essay on Jim," the story of my travels with the UU Rev. James L. Stoll, the first US clergyman to come out as gay, in 1969, and "The Way Things Are Supposed To Be," a Buddhist-ish look at the pain caused by Expectation. Many others.
 
Name: Rev. Ben Bortin
UU Minister: Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 718-816-0160
Service Description: How Deadly Were the Seven Deadly Sins? These infamous seven don't appear in the Bible, but they have been bandied about in Christian tradition since the Middle Ages. Each of these shortcomings poses a problem for us humans. Each, as well, is a behavior which is all too familiar. I would contend that there are sins far graver than any of the seven, in scope and in nature.
 
Name: David R. Chapman
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 908-938-1830
City and state of residence: Flemington, NJ
Distance willing to travel: 200 miles
Service Description: "Good and Evil: Hope and Heroism in the 21st Century" Why do good people, people with high ethical standards and sound theological beliefs, often fail to keep their decisions and actions at the same level of goodness as their moral guidelines? Dave’s talk involves a look at good and evil in light of the science of our 21st century, and what it means for us individually, socially, and spiritually. Dave makes a call for a new definition of heroism and moral character.
Website for more information: WellSaidDave.com
 
Name: Melanie Davis, EdD, CSE
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 908-722-1632
City and state of residence: Somerville, NJ
Distance willing to travel: anywhere in the Metro NY District
Service Description: Melanie's programs include songs, readings, and a sermon. (1) "Honoring Your Inherent Worth and Dignity": UUs covenant to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all people but may neglect to affirm our own. Melanie offers a spiritual framework for recognizing one's own value; (2) "A UU Take on Faith and Miracles": These highly charged words can be relevant for religious liberals from many belief systems; (3) "The Abstract Art of Parenting": Explore the ways we can incorporate the second UU principal as we parent children, ourselves, siblings, and aging parents; (4) "Answering the Call": Melanie describes her journey from being a UU youth sex educator to becoming a professional sexuality education consultant who approaches her work as a ministry.
Website for more information: HonestExchange.com
Click here for flyer.
 
Name: Rev. Dr. Len De Roche, D. Min.
UU Minister: Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 610-317-2338
City and state of residence: Bethlehem, PA
Distance willing to travel: 150 miles
Service Description: I will develop sermons for the particular congregation and setting either cognitive based or more affective. I have served three congregations. My interests include Jungian psychology and systems theory and am working as a financial advisor for a Fortune 300 company as my day job. Examples include The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss, (Dr. Seuss was not a theologian, but his children’s books are full of faithfulness, fairness, friendship, fun and alliteration); The Malstrom (a sermon using a story by Poe as a theme); ; The Green Bag (a sermon derived from a Norwegian folk tale); Spiritual Self-Care or There be Dragons Here (going to that place internally that is scary.)
 
Name: Rev. Dianne Disston, M.S.
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 845-494-6789
Service Description: A Spiritual Mentor in Brewster NY, Rev. Dianne Disston, M.S. has a Bachelors in Business and Psychology and a Masters in Leadership. After 25 years in the corporate world as manager, coach, and corporate trainer, Dianne was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2003 at St. John the Divine in New York City. In 2004 she received her candidacy for psychoanalytic certification and licensing at the Westchester Institute in Bedford Hills NY. Dianne provides worship services for local UU congregations. Topics include: The Feminine Church, Something Greater Than Ourselves, On Common Ground: An Interfaith Perspective, Spiritual Depression in the 21st Century.
 
Name: Tom Duncan
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 201-836-6076
Service Description: Dr. Dubious and the Agnostics provide traditional jazz music for congregation events and for worship services in the New Orleans style. References available from Central Unitarian Church, Paramus, NJ; All Souls, NYC; St. Paul's Lutheran, Teaneck, NJ; Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Ramsey, NJ and Colts Neck Reformed Church, Colts Neck, NJ.
 
Name: Rev. Jef Gamblee
UU Minister: Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 718-818-0065
City and state of residence: Staten Island, NY
Distance willing to travel: 60 miles
Service Description: Sermons focusing on our ministry to one another in congregations and the challenge of practicing our UU vision outside the walls of our buildings.
 
Name: Amy Wright Glenn
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 609-895-2696
Service Description: Amy Wright Glenn is a talented and warm-hearted speaker experienced in addressing UU congregations receiving very positive feedback. As a long time UU, Glenn draws upon her extensive study of comparative religions and her unique experiences as a birth doula and hospital chaplain to make philosophical topics come to life. She speaks powerfully and evocatively on subjects relating to the study of World Religions, Myth and Culture, Birth and Death, the Middle East, Gender Studies, and Contemporary Ethics.
Website for more information: www.amywrightglenn.com
 
Name: Joe Gonzalez, Jr.
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 203-406-3213
City and state of residence: Stamford, CT
Distance willing to travel: will travel up to 45 miles, or about an hour's worth of travel
Service Description: (1) "I'm Pagan . . . I Don't Bite!" Much of what the world knows about the Wiccan and pagan religions comes in the form of misinformation from Hollywood, the Internet, and even the Bible. This sermon takes a look at what paganism really is, how the negative steroetypes and misinformation came to be, and what pagans and we as UUs can do to help bring a positive light back to this ancient religion. (2) "Did Jesus Survive the Crucifixion?" Evidence that Jesus survived the crucifixion is found in the holy texts of several major world religions, including the Christian Gospels! I take a look at the evidence, as well as the possibility that Jesus traveled to and spent his remaining days in India and is currently buried in a known location in Kashmir. I will also discuss the implications of Jesus' survival not only on Christianity, but on religion as we know it today.
 
Name:  Rev. Harry C. Green
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 201-857-8567
City and state of residence: Ridgewood, NJ
Distance willing to travel: 100 miles
Service Description:  Willing to provide a variety of Sunday services based on the congregation's needs and desires.
 
Name:  Daniel Gregoire
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 347-244-5309
City and state of residence: New York, NY
Distance willing to travel: 25-50 miles
Service Description:  I bring sense of warmth and levity to Sunday Worship service. I enjoy preaching on topics that include Science Fiction, Ancient Near Eastern mythology, 19th Century British and American Literature. My sermons have been well received and have been described as “thought provoking”, “inspirational” and “fun”. I am available for last minute preaching engagements, especially over holiday weekends and during the summer months! Currently, I am a first year Seminarian at Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York, preparing for Parish Ministry. Moreover, I am quite eager for and appreciative of opportunities to practice the craft of Ministry.
 
Name:  Rob Gregson
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 973-801-5345
City and state of residence: South Orange, NJ
Distance willing to travel: willing to travel in roughly a 25 mile radius
Service Description:  Can be flexible; have seven years of sermons to work off so can accommodate many different themes.
 
Name:  Rev. Debra W. Haffner
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 203-840-1148
Service Description:  "Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing":  Rev. Haffner, the director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, offers a worship service on the connection between sexuality and religion and a new paradigm for sexual health and justice in faith communities.  She is also available to conduct workshops for congregations on building a sexually healthy faith community and creating safe congregations. 
 
Name:  Julia Hamilton
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 347-204-9452
City and state of residence: Jersey City, NJ
Distance willing to travel: Anywhere in New Jersey, Manhattan or Staten Island
Service Description:  As Director of the UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey, I have been visiting congregations regularly to talk about social justice and the current efforts of the UULMNJ. Our current areas of focus are Marriage Equality, Health Care, Economic Justice and the Environment. I am currently a Candidate for Ministry. I served my internship at the Unitarian Church in Summit (NJ) and graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 2008.
Website for more information: Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey
 
Name:  John Hawkins
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 908-591 8442
City and state of residence: Westfield, NJ
Distance willing to travel: 50 miles
Service Description:  Service as Fulfillment. Congregations exist because people work together to create them. Some people volunteer out of a sense of duty, but most do so because it satisfies a need: to be of use, to be part of the community, or to grow and learn. Through service in this congregation and in the District to which our congregation belongs, I have found fulfillment and expanded my horizons. This service is a reflection on congregational service as an element of spiritual growth. It includes personal history, lessons learned, and a chance for us all to make beautiful music.
 
Name:  Rev. Tony Johnson
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 646-515-4729
City and state of residence: Orange, NJ
Distance willing to travel: throughout Metro NY and to neighboring districts
Service Description:  Topics include 21st Century Universalism, Ambitious Generosity, America Never Was a Christian Nation (But What If It Were?), Forward Movement, Healing with Truth, Love and Addiction, Obscene Boundaries and Friendly Borders, Talking about God, The City Is Sacred Space, and many others. Just ask! Worship should be lively as well as thoughtful. So don't expect me to stay behind the pulpit or leave my tambourines at home. In my 33rd year of ministry (parish and community) and still growing, I am Affiliated Minister at the Community Church of New York UU and Consulting (Parish) Minister at the UU Congregation of the Palisades in Englewood NJ.
 
Name: Geoff Kaufman
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 860 443-2711
Service Description: I perform songs in the acoustic folk style, mostly with guitar or a cappella which can dovetail with many Service topics, particulary environmental and social justice. I can also offer entire services with readings, music and my reflections.
Website for more information: Musical Programs by Geoff Kaufman
 
Name:  Jennifer Kelleher
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 609-577-7600
City and state of residence: Cherry Hill, NJ
Distance willing to travel: willing to travel anywhere in the District
Service Description: Jennifer begins her first year as seminarian at Meadville Lombard Theological School in the fall of 2009. Jennifer brings with her 7 years experience leading UU worship, most recently serving as Chair of the Worship Committee for the UU Church in Washington Crossing (Titusville NJ). Jennifer enjoys intergenerational worship, interfaith dialogue and exploration, and taking an historic approach to understanding our UU past to learn the potential of how it is yet to shape the future of this sacred movement. Her service that has been the most well-received is called "What is Worship?" A common question that arises from those new to our faith and even from those with a firm foundation is "What makes up common UU worship, when we have such varying beliefs and personal theologies?" How do we mesh the individual spirituality with the common expression of faith? Jennifer blends personal experience, prose, liturgy, music, and movement to create a worship experience with the intention of stimulating mind, body, and spirit.
 
Name:  Rev. Dr. Nicole C. Kirk
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 609-452-2280
Service Description:  Currently pursuing a PHD in American Religious History, I served a Unitarian congregation for eight years in Kirtland, Ohio. In summer 2008, I was the July Minister at the Unitarian Church in Summit. I have a variety of services on every topic and nearly every holiday.
 
Name:  Rev. Jan Vickery Knost
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 401-377-8989
Service Description:  Active parish minister for 45 years. Educated at St. Lawrence University, Brown and Oxford, England. Served on the UUA Board as elected trustee from Mass Bay District. Also served on the Ministerial Fellowship Committee and the Continental Program Fund Committee. Served churches in RI, MA, NJ, TX, FL and NM. Married to Lorna Smith Knost. (Celebrated our 46th anniversary this week.) Four children, 1 son and 3 daughters + 7 grandchildren. Interests: fishing, gardening, golf, writing (prose and poetry), classical music, amateur theater (acting and directing), a good martini.
 
Name:  Carlos R. Martinez
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 914-835-0332
City and state of residence: Mamaroneck, NY
Distance willing to travel: 50-75 miles
Service Description: Currently a candidate in ministry from Union Theological NYC, a second career seminarian with wide ranging life experiences. Special interest in connecting our tradition and experience to contemporary expressions of Unitarian Universalism. Can preach, officiate weddings, dedications, and memorials. Friendly, welcoming, and hospitable presence. Can conduct alternative and non-traditional ceremonies. Lives in Westchester County, can travel widely in the Tri-state area. Speaks Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French.
 
Name:  Rev. Jon Mundy, Ph.D.
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 845-496-9089
Service Description: I am an author, lecturer, and, as Dr. Baba Jon Mundane, a standup philosopher comedian. As a lecturer in philosophy at the State University of New York, my specialization is the History of Mysticism, American Transcendentalism, and the Psychology of Religion. I’ve authored eight books, including my newest book What is Mysticism? I am Senior Minister Emeritus of Interfaith Fellowship with services in Cami Hall across from Carnegie Hall in New York City. Sermon topics include: Remember to Laugh: On the Healing Power of Humor (I guarantee 30 plus good laughs in this message); I’m Nobody, Who are you?; The Spiritual Diet and Developing Positive Addictions.
Website for more information: Miracles Magazine
 
Name:  Rev. Rosemarie Newberry
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 732-331-9463
City and state of residence: Shrewsbury, NJ
Distance willing to travel: 100+
Service Description: I am a hospice chaplain and a chaplain for people with developmental disabilities. I have also worked as a parish minister. I provide workshops to congregations, districts, and also at General Assembly. I do research at Meadville/Lombard on historical UU figures. I can provide a variety of worship services. I speak on "UUism and Mysticism," the Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones (a Unitarian of the Western Conference of the 19th century), disabilities, eco-justice, end of life, holy days, congregational life, and many other topics. Expect your congregation to be moved, remembering the service for many years to come.
 
Name:  Rev. Julie Newhall
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 732-291-2221
Service Description:  Sunday worship on a wide variety of themes, weddings, memorial services and funerals.
 
Name:  Herb Ouida
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 201-265-7765
City and state of residence: River Edge, NJ
Distance willing to travel: anywhere in the District
Service Description:  "Transforming Tragedy Into Hope". How Herb's family dealt with loss of Herb's son on September 11. The family chose to honor Todd and his memory by creating The Todd Ouida Children's Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to helping children who suffer, as Todd did, from anxiety disorders and depression.
 
Name:  Rev. Jennifer Pader
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 212-765-6340
Service Description:  Serving as the Affiliate Minister for Pastoral Care of the Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan), I am an urban minister preaching on a variety of topics according to the needs of the season, the circumstances, and the congregation. I am known for wide-ranging and often humorous sermons, including stories about oysters, Martha Stewart, and dogs I have known. But my sermons are also in touch with pain, compassion, self-knowledge, and community.
 
Name:   Rev. Wendy Pantoja
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 908-789-1599
Service Description:  Within an overarching theme of building Beloved Community, some topics addressed in my sermons are: cultural misappropriation, accessibility, covenanting, the search for truth and meaning, and the environment. I am also available to officiate weddings, civil unions, memorial services, funerals, and child dedications. As a bilingual person, I can offer these services in Spanish as well as in English.
 
Name:   Rev. Elizabeth Putnam
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 646-920-2262
City and state of residence: New York, NY
Distance willing to travel: willing to travel up to two hours by public transport
Service Description:  I am able to create services for a wide variety of themes and formats. Previous traditional format services include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sojourner Truth, Interdependence, and Transcendentalism. I am also able to create alternative format services that allow for direct congregational interaction, usually building around earth-based themes. Prior services of this type include May Day, Mid-Summer, and Day of the Dead. I love to create worship, so special requests for new services are welcome.
 
Name:  Donna Renfro and Core of Fire
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 732-513-8867
Service Description: Core of Fire is an interfaith dance ministry of mature women who use the healing power of dance to combine spiritual connection and creative movement into choreography that speaks to our deepest longings to express the awe, wonder, and anguish of the life experience. We can bring sacred dance to your congregation in three ways: 2-3 dances in a worship service; an entire worship service on several topics; intergenerational workshops on improvisational and choreographed sacred dance. References available. See some of us perform at General Assembly 2008: Click the Website link below, and then click on video coverage. Core of Fire is included in the video for the June 26 Worship Service.
Website for more information: About Core of Fire Interfaith Dance Ministry
 
Name:  Rev. Ron Sala
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 203-559-9620
City and state of residence: Stamford, CT
Distance willing to travel: Anywhere in the Metro NY District
Service Description:  I can preach from my catalog or on a requested subject. Recent sermons include “Catching Up With Happiness,” “Gnosis: A Western Path Of Spiritual Knowledge,” “Epiphanies of Rumi,” “Proud to Be Judgment-Free,” “Jesus Who?” “Let Me Not Whine, Want to Shine, or Recline," “A Busload of Faith," "Confessions of a Mennonite Menace," and “Life in Balance: Wisdom from the Tao Te Ching.”
Website for more information:  uusis.org/minister.htm
 
Name:  Rev. J. Manny Santiago
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 347-243-3261
City and state of residence: New York, NY
Distance willing to travel: anywhere in the Metro NY District
Service Description:  Ordained in the progressive Christian tradition, can provide pulpit supply in both English and Spanish. Commitment to progressive/liberal theology. Experience in the fields of Queer theology and spirituality, Afro-Hispanic religious experiences and spiritualities, and others.
Website for more information:  Manny's blog
 
Name:  Rev. Amy Strano
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 917-734-1702
City and state of residence: Brooklyn, NY
Distance willing to travel: throughout the tri-state area
Service Description:  The Reverend Amy Strano is an ordained UU. She delights in officiating weddings. Whether it is a ceremony of 4 or 400 people, Amy provides a caring, thoughtful, and welcoming presence and is particularly skilled at alternative and non-traditional ceremonies that celebrate a couple¹s love rather than written doctrine. Amy is also available to lead services that honor the life of a person, be it a baby dedication or a memorial service. Amy lives in New York City with her husband and young daughter.
 
Name:  Julie Taylor
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 646-552-5980
City and state of residence: New York, NY
Distance willing to travel: 50 miles
Service Description:  I am currently a candidate for ministry. Some of my most popular sermons are on the topics of the web of covenant, letting go and hanging on, considering the unimaginable (about congregational preparedness), and observing the sabbath. I am a member of the UU Trauma Response Ministry team and have many years of experience with emergency response.
 
Name:  uu4ia (pronouced "euphoria")
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 215-321-3343
Service Description:  A Women's Quartet providing inspirational harmonic singing for services, special events, celebrations of life, memorials. The group's mission is to further service to our faith through song. Areas of interest: women, earth spirituality, musical meditation, being an integral part of service. We are able to provide music for services or provide a musical service. Members of UU Church at Washington Crossing (Titusville NJ): Marianne Chopp Alt, Sarah Burke, Holly Bussey (founder), Kathy Frey.
 
Name:  Charles Versfelt
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 201-637-3907
City and state of residence: Raritan, NJ
Distance willing to travel: 50 miles
Service Description:  Historic services include: Joseph Priestly and Christian Unitarianism, performed in colonial costume, includes a brief mock chemistry demonstration; “Ye Will Say I am No Christian" -- The Religious Correspondences of Adams and Jefferson, performed in colonial costume. Sermons include: Spirit and Soul: What do “Soul” and “Spirit” mean to UUs?; Brotherhood of Man: The Shared Hope of the Religious and Secular.
 
Name:  Rev. Allen Wells
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 973-539-0301
City and state of residence: Morristown, NJ
Distance willing to travel: within one hour's drive
Service Description:  Allen is especially interested in exploring the inter-relationship of our inner, spiritual worlds - and the outer: political and social world of our culture, and how each affects the other. He is an Insight Meditation teacher and active environmentalist.
 
Name: Angelo Zappala
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):     
Phone: 401-855-6325
Service Description: "Music That Speaks to Unitarians". An unorthodox but very popular survey of music old and new, with read-along-lyrics that will remind you of why you're a UU and rekindle your commitment to your very core! It is a very engaging, entertaining, and challenging service that will leave you much to think and talk about!
 

Guided by our living faith, the Unitarian Universalist District of Metropolitan New York exists to be a source of connection and transformation for our congregations and our larger world.