Biography
Rev. Lyn with their family
I was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland. My two younger brothers and I grew up surrounded by family, neighbors, and the members our United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation. In addition to school and church, I was involved in orchestra, Girl Scouts, swim team, and theater.
As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland at College Park, I studied journalism with a concentration in public relations. This was also the time when I began practicing earth-centered spirituality. Some of my Pagan friends were also Unitarian Universalists. I remembered their descriptions of Unitarian Universalism a few years later when I was ready to seek out a congregation.
My public relations internships in college and my early career after college introduced me to a variety of settings, including high tech companies, educational institutions, arts organizations, government agencies, and nonprofits. After I moved to California, I got a job as the Educational Services Coordinator at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, which is Stanford University’s art museum.
The move to California was a major change. Though I was partnered, I had few other contacts, and I missed the involvement in activities such as music and community service that I had given up in the move, and I missed being involved in an intergenerational community. Realizing that congregational life would offer all of these features, I remembered the recommendation of my friends to explore Unitarian Universalism. I found a congregation, got involved, and discovered a call to the ministry.
As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland at College Park, I studied journalism with a concentration in public relations. This was also the time when I began practicing earth-centered spirituality. Some of my Pagan friends were also Unitarian Universalists. I remembered their descriptions of Unitarian Universalism a few years later when I was ready to seek out a congregation.
My public relations internships in college and my early career after college introduced me to a variety of settings, including high tech companies, educational institutions, arts organizations, government agencies, and nonprofits. After I moved to California, I got a job as the Educational Services Coordinator at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, which is Stanford University’s art museum.
The move to California was a major change. Though I was partnered, I had few other contacts, and I missed the involvement in activities such as music and community service that I had given up in the move, and I missed being involved in an intergenerational community. Realizing that congregational life would offer all of these features, I remembered the recommendation of my friends to explore Unitarian Universalism. I found a congregation, got involved, and discovered a call to the ministry.
At Starr King School for the Ministry, I was deeply involved in the academic and social life of the school. I served a term as Student Body President and a term on the Student Affairs Committee. Part of my financial aid involved work-study with the Saint Lawrence Project, researching primary sources in the history of Universalism.
As a minister, I have served in congregations ranging in membership from under 30 to over 500. My ministry has also included two years of full-time service to our faith movement, one as the JPD Director for Young Adult and Campus Ministry, and one as a Program Consultant co-employed by the UUA and the JPD.
I completed a Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling, including two years of clinical counseling fieldwork with children, adolescents, and their families. I served as a part-time consulting minister during my graduate studies. For a year after completing my MS, I returned to denominational work on a consulting basis. This period of mixing community, parish, and entrepreneurial ministry gave me new ideas about Unitarian Universalism within, between, among, and beyond congregations. We live in a time of change and opportunity. I am excited to see how we will carry our faith movement forward.
As of this writing, I have served in four intentional Interim settings. From August 2015 to July 2017, I served as the Interim Parish Minister of the UU Congregation of York, PA. At UUCY, I initiated a new “Junior Worship Associate” plan to involve young leaders in multigenerational worship at developmentally appropriate levels. In my next post, as the Interim Minister at the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, I led a change management process to make worship services more unified, visitor-friendly, and meaningful for all ages. In my third Interim placement at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring, I coached the Board on new ideas in governance and helped launch a new model for strategic planning. In each Interim setting, I improved clarity and teamwork on the staff teams and strengthened the congregations’ stewardship practices. During the height of the pandemic, I served as the Interim Senior Leader for the Washington Ethical Society, where I helped the congregation lift up the gifts of their dual affiliation with the UUA and the American Ethical Union, clarified staff roles, and oversaw the leap to hybrid online/in-person Sunday gatherings.
As a minister, I have served in congregations ranging in membership from under 30 to over 500. My ministry has also included two years of full-time service to our faith movement, one as the JPD Director for Young Adult and Campus Ministry, and one as a Program Consultant co-employed by the UUA and the JPD.
I completed a Master of Science in Pastoral Counseling, including two years of clinical counseling fieldwork with children, adolescents, and their families. I served as a part-time consulting minister during my graduate studies. For a year after completing my MS, I returned to denominational work on a consulting basis. This period of mixing community, parish, and entrepreneurial ministry gave me new ideas about Unitarian Universalism within, between, among, and beyond congregations. We live in a time of change and opportunity. I am excited to see how we will carry our faith movement forward.
As of this writing, I have served in four intentional Interim settings. From August 2015 to July 2017, I served as the Interim Parish Minister of the UU Congregation of York, PA. At UUCY, I initiated a new “Junior Worship Associate” plan to involve young leaders in multigenerational worship at developmentally appropriate levels. In my next post, as the Interim Minister at the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, I led a change management process to make worship services more unified, visitor-friendly, and meaningful for all ages. In my third Interim placement at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring, I coached the Board on new ideas in governance and helped launch a new model for strategic planning. In each Interim setting, I improved clarity and teamwork on the staff teams and strengthened the congregations’ stewardship practices. During the height of the pandemic, I served as the Interim Senior Leader for the Washington Ethical Society, where I helped the congregation lift up the gifts of their dual affiliation with the UUA and the American Ethical Union, clarified staff roles, and oversaw the leap to hybrid online/in-person Sunday gatherings.
Rev. Lyn and their children at the Maryland Science Center
On a personal level, I live in Baltimore with my two partners, our two children, and our two cats. I also care for my aging father. I have amateur interests in crafting, gardening, dinosaurs, and fitness walking. I enjoy reading UU history, poetry, science fiction, and popular science.
We are an interfaith household. We emphasize Judaism in our children’s religious upbringing, although the children have been to Unitarian Universalist congregations a few times and are fond of “Meditation on Breathing.” Right now, we are preparing for their B'nai Mitzvah celebration, anticipated in October of 2023. My children enjoy music, drama, role playing games, science, and books. In our family, we encourage each other so that every person, young or old, is able to develop our gifts and our sense of responsibility to bless the world.
We are an interfaith household. We emphasize Judaism in our children’s religious upbringing, although the children have been to Unitarian Universalist congregations a few times and are fond of “Meditation on Breathing.” Right now, we are preparing for their B'nai Mitzvah celebration, anticipated in October of 2023. My children enjoy music, drama, role playing games, science, and books. In our family, we encourage each other so that every person, young or old, is able to develop our gifts and our sense of responsibility to bless the world.