Strafford Unitarian-Universalist
Church Hires New Minister

South Strafford’s Unitarian-Universalist Church has hired its first regular minister since reopening its doors in 2001.

The new minister, Dr. M’ellen Kennedy, has served the small Strafford congregation as a consulting minister for over a year. Her new appointment as quarter-time, regular minister is a milestone in the revival of this small church, the oldest Universalist church in Vermont and fourth oldest in the nation. The church now has two services monthly. Dr. Kennedy will conduct services on the first Sunday of each month; services on the third Sunday are led by members of the congregation or feature guest speakers.

A resident of Bristol, Dr. Kennedy is a graduate of Simon’s Rock College. She holds an M.A. in Women’s Studies and Counseling from Goddard, a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, and a Masters of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. She has been a chaplain at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington and the VA Medical Center in Kansas City, focusing especially on substance abuse, mental illness, oncology patients and palliative care ministry.

As coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network, based in Burlington, Dr. Kennedy conducts workshops and consults with churches on ways to strengthen lay leadership. She has also preached frequently at U-U churches in Stowe, Woodstock, and other Vermont towns.

"We are pleased and delighted to have M’ellen joining us in an official capacity," said Andrew Lane, moderator of the Universalist Society of Strafford, the official name of the congregation. "Her experience with pastoral care, small group ministries, and her fantastic sermons are all reasons that our congregation chose her to be our minister."

The first Universalist Society in Vermont started meeting in the newly-built Strafford Town House in 1798 and moved to its own church in South Strafford several years later. In the early 1980s the church became inactive, but in 2001 a group of local people brought it back to life. Services are now held twice each month in the historic 19^th century church during the warmer seasons, and across the street in Barrett Hall in winter.

Besides hiring Dr. Kennedy, the church recently completed raising funds for a badly-needed water cistern in a remote village in Benin, West Africa. Two Strafford residents will travel to Benin in February to oversee construction of the cistern. The church also sponsors an ongoing Summer Folk Series featuring top performers from around New England. For more information call Fred Wolfe at 765-4295.

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