Like a lot of UUMN members, I spent the first part of my church music career working for other denominations. Upon returning to Rockford twenty years ago, I spent a year as organist at a small Episcopal church, two years as choir director/organist at a medium-sized Lutheran (ELCA) church, and seven years as Director of Music at a large Presbyterian (USA) church. During that time, I was invited occasionally to play at the Unitarian Universalist church, usually to accompany the larger musical undertakings of my predecessor, Kay Hotchkiss. I enjoyed making music with Kay and the Unicantors (the UU Rockford choir), and I especially enjoyed the liberal theology that informed the worship services in which I participated. After decades of working in churches where my beliefs didn’t match their theology, I found myself less and less engaged in the worship that I was supposed to be helping to lead. When Kay decided to give up the reins after over five decades of service, I jumped at the opportunity to be able finally to work at a church where I felt I could participate fully in worship. It’s been ten years now, and I’ve never looked back and couldn’t be happier!

I had to put off going to UUMN conferences for a couple of years because I was finishing up my degree at Middlebury College during the summers. My first conference was in St. Paul, where I will never forget the feeling of standing to be recognized with all the other first-timers as we all sang “Come and Go with Me” together. I guess I took that message to heart. When asked to serve on the newly-reconfigured Conference Planning Committee in 2008 along with several of my area colleagues, I gladly said yes. Work on that committee led to a request to serve on the Board of Trustees as Treasurer, which led to serving as your current President. I feel like I have learned a lot from all of you over the past several years. I look forward to learning even more over the next three years. Most of all, I look forward to greeting you all in San Diego in July – especially the first-timers, to whom I will extend the same invitation you all extended to me in song in St. Paul.

Ours is a blessed community of individuals committed to musical excellence and innovation in worship. I’m proud of the great things we do as an organization, and I’m excited as we look toward the future to see what great things are yet to come. See you in July!