Dear Friends,
Your Board of Trustees is pleased to announce to the congregation that we have hired Rev. Margaret ("Margie") Allen as our consulting minister for a three-year period commencing August 15, 2010. We send this letter to share the good news, fill you in on the process by which we came to hire Margie, and give you some insight into her background and experience.
The search committee, chaired by Pat Killian and also comprised of Donna Demian, Deborah Little, Ursula Moylan, and Marian Ulrich, was mindful of impending UUA deadlines and thus moved quickly to get out our congregational packet, letting ministers know we were looking for a consulting minister. We received an impressive 11 responses and, by reading through the prospective candidates' packets and matching their needs to ours, the search committee narrowed it down to four. The search committee then interviewed the four by phone. While all four were strong candidates, the committee agreed upon the top two: both were excellent and would have been good fits.
After meeting the two face-to-face, checking extensive references, and matching their hopes and dreams to ours, the search team wholeheartedly recommended Margie Allen to the Board. The trustees met, reviewed her qualifications, spoke with Margie by phone, and unanimously voted to hire her as our consulting minister.
We anticipate that you will all have an opportunity to meet Margie some time in June or July, details yet to be arranged. Meanwhile, we offer a brief profile here. Margie is in her early 50s. Born and raised in Virginia, she has also spent time in Ohio and the Midwest. Most recently she was Associate Minister at the prominent Westport CT UU congregation (700+ members). Prior to being ordained as a UU minister, she was a critical care nurse in an open heart surgery center. Margie has always felt called to "minister" and chose nursing initially because it was a way to care for body and soul. She also has a great love for the outdoors, kayaking, and gardening. She loves the way we have taken care of our grounds and made them an extension of our building's sacred space. Margie is marrying her partner, Linda, on May 30, and they are relocating to Long Island some time this summer.
We hope you will join your Board in thanking the search committee for their hard work and intensified efforts over the past few weeks. Everyone who has interacted with Margie has been thoroughly impressed and confident that she will be invaluable in taking our community forward on our collective and individual spiritual journeys.
In Fellowship,
UUFSB Board of Trustees:
Greg Maggio, President
Colleen Rudman, Vice President
Irv Frankel, Treasurer
Mike Hoffman, Secretary
Trustees: Dixie Comeau, Dan Dunmire, Gene O'Brien, Linda Pfeiffer, Megs Shea
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