Check out the Transitions Team blog here.

The Minister Search Committee has selected, by unanimous vote, the Rev. Hannah Capaldi to be the candidate for the position of Settled Minister at USG.

From April 21 to 28, Candidating Week, the congregation will have various opportunities to meet Rev. Hannah and learn more about her. Please see below for the schedule. On Sunday, April 28, after the service, the members of the congregation (people who have signed the membership book) will vote on whether to confirm Rev. Hannah Capaldi as USG’s settled minister. Please mark April 28 on your calendar, so you can participate in the vote.

Reverend Hannah Capaldi is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. She was raised in the congregation at First Parish of Concord and was ordained there in December of 2019. She comes to ministry with a passion for preaching an inspiring word, challenging her communities to live into their best selves, and finding joy in pursuit of a better world.  

Rev. Hannah graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York City where she taught after-school to eighth graders, served as a chaplain at a shelter for LGBTQ+ youth, and worked in the college program at the Bedford Hills Women’s Prison. Upon graduation, she was honored with the Charles A. Briggs Award “for the qualities of conscience, commitment, and courage.” She completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital and her ministerial internship at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Washington Crossing in Titusville, NJ. Her last five years have been spent serving the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia as the Minister for Faith Formation. In that role, she oversaw a portfolio that included membership, pastoral care, lifelong spiritual formation, and social justice.  

Rev. Hannah lives in West Philly with her wife Livia and her toddler Antonia. In her free time, she loves to cook and host dinner parties, read long form journalism, and swim in any and all bodies of water. You can learn more about her at her website: revhannahcapaldi.squarespace.com

Watch the Search Committee’s video all about USG.

Your Ministerial Search Committee!

top: Dennis Brunn, Carolyn Cotton, Lisa Dutton, Emily Joy Goldberg;
bottom: Vanessa Lowe, Rick Rodes, Sam Stormont.

Earlier this summer the congregation voted to form the search committee, and we are honored to be chosen to serve in this capacity. 

Dennis Brunn- Dennis has been a member of USG since 1974. He served many years on the Social Action Committee (now Social Justice Council), Share the Plate Committee,  initiatives to insure that USG investments follow socially responsible guidelines, a Board member,  a co-leader of USG’s POWER committee, and was the Statewide Organizer for UUPLAN, now UU Justice PA, from 2011 to 2013.

Carolyn Cotton- Carolyn a long time member of the church, has served on the Board of Trustees twice and as Board President. Currently active on the Buildings & Grounds committee helping to maintain the unique and beautiful facility. Her twin daughters grew up in the church. She is a retired residential realtor. She is an artist/painter.

Lisa Dutton- Lisa has been a member of USG since 2017. She has been active on the Welcoming Committee, Widening the Circle Initiative and as the coordinator for the local BLUU Haven Philly (Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism) meet ups. She is a cancer patient advocate who enjoys skiing, travel, the arts, walking/hiking and dining out.

Emily Joy Goldberg- Emily Joy has been a member of USG since 2004. She sang in the choir as section leader for 13 years, led many Young Adult Small Group Ministries, and has been involved in leading children’s programs with her kids, Willa and Lily. She is a singer-songwriter and school-based speech language pathologist who loves the outdoors.

Vanessa Lowe- Vanessa began visiting USG in 2008 and officially joined in 2016. She coordinated MLK Day welcoming in her early days, ushered before the pandemic, and enjoyed a women’s small group ministry. Most recently she served on the Music Director search, joined the new Investment Committee and shared Money as an 8th Principle Action Tool from the pulpit in 2022.

Rick Rodes- Rick has been a member of USG for 15 years. He has served on a number of committees including Nominating, Adult Spiritual Development, Buildings and Grounds, and for the past 8 years Stewardship for which he is the chair. His favorite church activity has been choir. He and his wife Judy split their time between Ambler, PA and Northern Michigan.

Sam Stormont- Sam says, USG has enriched my life for over 30 years. He has served on the Board of Trustees twice, as Religious Education (now CSD) chair, and as Auction chair and co-chair. He has participated in Small Group Ministry for over 15 years and on the Stewardship committee for the past 2 years.  He also served on the Interim Minister search committee and has been actively involved in a variety of other USG activities, committees and projects over the years.  He says, serving on the Settled Minister search committee provides an opportunity for him to contribute in helping USG to find a leader with the vision and skills to carry forward our UU values.

Please stay tuned for more information on opportunities to share your hopes, concerns, and thoughts, so that we can make the most informed decision for our congregation. To get in touch with the committee, please email ministersearch@usguu.org.

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Curious about when we will have a new minister? Interested in the process?

Here are highlights from the timeline that we follow to get us through this journey. The timeline is put in place by the Unitarian Universalist Association so that we are prepared and in sync with the searching ministers.

April-June 2023 – Search team selection process. Completed. We now have a Ministerial Search Committee!

June-August 2023 – Search Team holds retreat to plan and begin the work. Completed. We met on 7/22 and got ourselves organized.

September 2023 – Congregational Survey. Look for an announcement about a google forms survey coming to your inbox. We will also have paper copies for anyone who needs them.

September-November 2023 – “Cottage” meetings/interviews. Members of the Search Committee will meet with various groups in the church to solicit their thoughts, concerns, and hopes.

October or November 2023 – Workshop for the congregation: “Breaking Barriers, Building Beliefs.” This is a new program from the UUA that takes into account the incredible changes that have happened since 2015/2016, the realization that as UUs, we need to grapple with breaking old cultural habits, and rebuild belief in the power of Beloved Community. 

September-December 2023 – Search Committee creates and submits the “documents packet” to the UUA. This is the way we share about USG and the wonderful things it has to offer in order to catch the attention of candidates who would be a good match.

January 2nd, 2024 – Search Team receives the initial list of applicants who are interested. (The process is similar to medical residency “matching.”)

Mid-January 2024 – Search Team conducts virtual interviews with top candidates.

February-March 2024 – Search Team invites a small number of candidates to “pre-candidate.” This means they would meet with the committee in person. 

Early April 2024 – Search Committee announces chosen candidate to congregation. 

There is a lot more work behind the scenes, but this is the general schedule to expect during the process. Thanks for your trust in us as your Ministerial Search Committee!