Our new Interim Minister
We are excited to announce that the Rev. Seth Carrier-Ladd will be our Interim Minister beginning August 1. He is currently the Interim Senior Minister at First Parish Church in Concord, MA and previously was the Interim Minister at the UU Church in Marblehead, so he has experience leading congregations through the process of selecting a settled minister. That process typically takes a couple of years as we decide, together, what we’d like our future to look like.
Seth grew up in Northampton, MA in a family that was active in the UU church. He received a degree from Union College, where he majored in computer science, then worked as a project manager/systems analyst for six years until beginning his training for the ministry. While attending Andover Newton Theological Seminary, he worked as a personal care assistant in a center for developmentally disabled adults. He served as an intern minister and community minister in Tulsa, OK before being called to be the Minister of the UU Church of Muncie, IN.
In 2020 his family moved back to Massachusetts. The family includes Seth’s spouse, the Rev. Elizabeth Carrier-Ladd, who has just been called to be the settled minister at First Parish in Waltham (walthamuu.org), and their four children, ages 4-10. Spirituality is important to Seth, as he just completed training through Meadville Lombard Theological School and is now a certified spiritual director. He is also passionate about yoga and, thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program, completed a yoga teacher training program in Costa Rica.
We can expect sermons that address the issue, “How does religion inform my life?” When we asked Seth what stood out to him in our application for an interim minister, he singled out spirituality as shown by our covenant groups, community engagement, the variety of music, the statement of purpose for children’s programming (Children’s Programming – Winchester Unitarian Society (winchesteruu.org)), our mantra ‘connection, not perfection,’ and our efforts to address financial challenges.
When we talked to references about Seth, we heard: thoughtful, open, capable, smart, patient, kind, incredibly self-aware, respectful, keeps the most vulnerable in mind, good at soothing ruffled feathers, good mediator, fabulous supervisor, excellent administrator, good technical skills, very organized, clear with boundaries in role as interim minister.
You can learn more about Seth on his website: Rev. Seth Carrier-Ladd – Home (revsethcarrierladd.com) We can’t wait for you to meet him!
Interim Minister Search Committee: Patty Cameron, Tricia McDowell, Sarah Milt, Kathy Richardson and Woody Wood