| Building the Plane as We Fly It! |
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| Dear Unitarian Society of Germantown, It feels thrilling to be writing this letter to all of you from my office at 6511 Lincoln Drive, where I have spent much of my first week getting settled. I have prioritized getting my office together so we can have a welcoming and warm space in which to get to know one another. As I unroll the new carpet and unpack the books, I am eagerly anticipating the stories that will be held by the four walls of this room as we journey together towards building beloved community and a better world. Much of August will be spent getting to know the administrative systems, committees, and people that make this place hum with activity. To that end, I have set up a system on Calendly which will allow you to schedule time with me! If you click here, you should be taken to a page which shows my availability for “coffee chats.” My first appearance in the pulpit will be Sunday, September 8th for Ingathering. Please bring some water from your summer adventures, near or far, to share. Second to getting my office in order has been onboarding our new staff. They said it couldn’t be done, but we did it! We have a new Director of Spiritual Development and a new Administrator, both of whom I have the highest confidence will charm you with their competence and compassion. And with Stearns in place too, we are working with a full team — and all of our new hires were raised in Unitarian Universalism! I am really proud and excited to be starting a new chapter here at USG and we will all be relying on your institutional memories, insights, and grace as we navigate the start of the congregational year. Please do read below for introductions to the new staff, make an appointment to have coffee with me, and buckle your seatbelts as we build the plane while flying it. Sending much love and gratitude to each of you for your faith in me- Rev. Hannah P.S. You can reach me at minister@usguu.org |
| Hunter McCorkel, USG’s Administrator |
 My name is Hunter McCorkel (she, they) and I am excited to be joining the USG team as the new administrator. My professional background is quite varied — over the years I have worked in publishing, abortion care, hospice nursing, and as a freelance copyeditor. I have a Bachelor’s of Arts from Oberlin College and a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. I have spent the last few years taking care of my young children full time and in those years, I cultivated my backyard into a large vegetable garden which I now reluctantly share with squirrels and groundhogs. I love to cook, read, and spend time outdoors. I was raised UU by my Jewish mother and Quaker father at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, NY, and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County in Lincroft, NJ. For my father and stepmother, their UU community at UUCMC was the focal point of their lives for many, many decades. While as an adult I have chosen to identify with my Jewish heritage, I am thrilled to reconnect with my UU upbringing by joining the USG community. My wife Basha and I live right around the corner from USG in Mt. Airy with our two children: Ruth, who is about to turn 6 and is very eager to show off her first loose tooth, and Aviv, who is 2. I also serve on the board of Philadelphia Family Pride and on the NextGen Council of Natural Lands. You can reach me by email at usgadmin@usguu.org. I look forward to meeting you. |
| ZoĂ« Johnston, USG’s Director of Spiritual Development |
 Hi all, my name is ZoĂ« Johnston (she/her) and I’m so excited to be joining you at USG. I’m a lifelong Unitarian Universalist and grew up along the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. While I was raised in the First Universalist Church of Denver, I found my first spiritual community in the gatherings of UU youth across the Pacific Western Region. This fostered a love of emergent covenants, collaboratively made worship services, and sustainable youth leadership. I moved to Philadelphia to attend Arcadia University for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. It feels good to be just down the street from the campus and neighborhood I came to love. In May of 2024, I received my Masters of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. My graduate thesis discussed how conflict transformation principles can be implemented with an abolitionist lens in social justice movement spaces. While I was a student, I also worked for the UU Ministry for Earth as their young adult Network Coordinator. In that role, I focused on bridging political education with spiritual groundedness and worked to establish a community of solidarity among UU young adults. I now live in West Philly and tend to the small garden in the backyard of my rowhouse. My life is full of stacks of books waiting to be read, an absurd amount of loose leaf tea, reality TV competition shows, and potluck dinners with friends. You can reach me by email at dsd@usguu.org. I look forward to meeting you and your families! |