Last updated: 07/02/2009

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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
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:  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: Melanie Davis, M.Ed.
UU Minister: No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 908-722-1632
Service Description: Melanie's programs   may 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, despite a spiritual rationale that recognizes our personal 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”: Childrearing is only one aspect of parenting; we may need to care for ourselves and others, including aging parents. Explore parenting in light of the 2nd UU principle.
Website for more information: www.honestexchange.com

 
Name: Rev. Dr. Len De Roche, D. Min.
UU Minister: Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 610-317-2338
Service Description: I tend toward cognitive sermons but develop sermons for the particular congregation and setting. I have served three congregations. My interests include Jungian psychology and systems theory and am working as a financial advisor 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); and The Green Bag (a sermon derived from a Norwegian folk tale).

 
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
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:  Rev. Harry C. Green
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 201-857-8567
Service Description:  Willing to provide a variety of Sunday services based on the congregation's needs and desires.

 
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
Service Description:  A Candidate for Ministry and a lifelong UU, I have led diverse worship services for many congregations and UU groups. I tend to write sermons and services for the specific community that I am working with. Particular interests of mine are the intersection of science and religion, UU social justice history, and the situation in New Orleans. I am currently finishing my internship at the Unitarian Church in Summit (NJ), having graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 2008.

 
Name:  Rev. Tony Johnson
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 646-515-4729
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. 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 32nd year of ministry, I am affiliated community minister at the Community Church of New York UU and interim parish minister of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield.

 
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
Service Description:  Founding Member, Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing Young Adult Group and current Chair, Worship Associates. Experienced in leading intergenerational, adult, youth and young adult services - contemporary and traditional. Topics include - Finding Meaning in Difficult Times, Flame in Our Hands (fostering YA groups), Spirtual Folk (music linked to UU principles), Four Noble Truths, Love My Country-Fear My Government, What is worship? Loves to work with others to create meaningful services specific to congregations/fellowships.

 
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:  Jeff Liebmann
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 412 760-6588
Service Description:  I am serving as a ministerial intern during 2009 at the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock and have two previous years of student ministry experience at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. I have preached at several fellowships and churches and can design a worship service on a variety of topics to meet your needs.
Website for more information: Jeff Liebmann's home page

 
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. 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
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:   Elizabeth Putnam
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 646-920-2262
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
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.” Willing to travel.
Website for more information:  uusis.org/minister.htm

 
Name:  Rev. J. Manny Santiago
UU Minister:  No
Email (click icon):  
Phone: 347-243-3261
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:  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 intergral 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:  Rev. Allen Wells
UU Minister:  Yes
Email (click icon):   
Phone: 973-539-0301
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.