Jay Abernathy, Minister

In August 2010, UUCSH welcomes the Reverend Dr. Jay Abernathy as interim minister. Jay is a native of Nashville, TN and is beginning his thirty-seventh year of ministry to UU congregations. After a short career in architecture, he was ordained and installed by the First Unitarian Church, Columbus, Ohio, as Associate Minister and Campus Minister to Ohio State University. After two years, he returned to graduate school in Toronto, where he also served a Canadian fellowship part-time.

In 1979 he was installed as minister of the historic South Church in Portsmouth, NH. He later returned to the south to serve Chattanooga, TN before moving to Naples, FL. This was part of the UUA's Extension Ministry program, and the small Naples church grew as the area became an increasingly popular retirement and vacation center. In 1997 the congregation built a totally new facility, which provided more seating for worship, as well as offices, RE rooms, and a commercial kitchen.

Jay moved to Rockville, MD in 1999, where the church was also looking to build. They constructed a new 350 seat Meeting Room (Sanctuary) with new adult and teen RE space. He later served the Fort Wayne, IN congregation for six years.

Jay has been active in UU Ministry organizations, and in UUA-related boards and groups (helping found the Urban Church Coalition, which introduced the idea of community ministers). He has served on civic Boards, including Planned Parenthood, United Way, the Chattanooga Housing Resources Board, and co-wrote the Collier County (Naples) Housing Plan. Jay has also served as President of several clergy groups.

Jay believes that "church is a model community for the human family". He supports an active, lively, and joyous congregation, and encourages social justice work and personal growth in moral and spiritual ideals. He wrote: "Sunday services are the center of church life, but only a small part of our time together. It must be rich in the arts, intellectually stimulating, and inspire our appreciation of life and humanity."

Jennifer McGlothin, Director of Religious Education

Jennifer McGlothin started as our new Director of Religious Education in July 2012.

She graduated in 2009 from the College of Charleston with a B.A. in Religious Studies and is a member of LREDA (Liberal Religious Educators Association).

She is active in both politics and social justice issues and enjoys discussion of the “unmentionables”- Religion and Politics. Jennifer first came to Unitarian Universalism while interning at the Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina with their DRE while in college.  Her goal is to foster education of world religions with compassion in human relations.  Inspiring the youth to make this a more peaceful and just world.

 

Jennifer was married in 2010 to her college sweetheart, Jimi, and they have a son, Jack, who was born in early 2011. Jack has already become a regular fixture around the church offices. He enjoys running up and down the halls and playing in our churchyard.