MINISter and staff

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Rev.  Rebecca is called to a pastoral and prophetic ministry where people and  communities know themselves to be worthy of love and able to love.  

Rev. Rebecca began her ministry at United First Parish Church in July 2015, following a unanimous vote of the congregation. Prior to her ministry in Quincy,  Rev. Rebecca served as Assistant Minister at First  Universalist Society in Franklin, MA and Intern Minister at Arlington  Street Church in Boston, MA. She has also served as Director of  Religious Education at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, AZ.  Rev. Rebecca is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and Vassar  College.

Rev. Rebecca grew up in a multifaith, multiracial neighborhood in  Philadelphia where she was raised by a father who was a Presbyterian minister and a mother who is Unitarian Universalist. Rev. Rebecca currently lives with her husband Alec Aman in an intentional living community in Boston grounded in Unitarian Universalist values and traditions and committed to  sustainability, spiritual practice and social change.

 Rev.  Bennett retired from his ministry at United First Parish Church in 2012  after serving the Church and community for 25 years. He continues to be  active in the community as Treasurer and member of the Board of  Directors of Quincy Community Action Programs, a member of the Quincy  Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee, President and Trustee of the  Unitarian Universalist Service Pension Society, and Moderator of the  Massachusetts Convention of Congregational Ministers. Interests include  classical piano, Tai Chi, theology, hiking the Blue Hills, history, and  current events.

Rev. Bennett received a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard  Divinity School and has a prior background in physics, construction and  management consulting, and lay church leadership.   Rev. Bennett lives  in Quincy, Massachusetts, with his wife Molly Mattfield Bennett and is  the father of four daughters .

To contact Rev. Bennett, please send a message to the church office at office@ufpc.org.

 Norman  has been with United First Parish Church for more than 25 years.  Growing up in Western New York, he started piano lessons at the age of  six. In high school, he began organ studies, played clarinet in the  school band, accompanied the high school chorus, and sang in his church choir.

At the University of Rochester, he majored in English, but studied  organ all four years at Eastman School of Music, and sang in his organ  teacher’s choir, where he met his wife Rita. He has spent most of his  life in the Boston area as organist and choir director. He is also  library assistant at Social Law Library in Boston.

“While my parents listened to all types of music, they especially  enjoyed the popular music of the forties and fifties. I felt drawn to  classical music from a very early age, and came to love Prokofiev,  Stravinsky and Charles Ives, as well as Bach and Handel. I am constantly  learning new music, and try to challenge myself and the choir as  performers, and the congregation as listeners.”

Joan McDonald was the Director of  Lifespan Religious Education in Des Moines, Iowa, as well as the  Director of Religious Education at UU Meetinghouse of Chatham, First  Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleboro, Community Church of Boston  and Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford and a ministerial intern  at First Parish Lexington. Joan received a BA in Liberal Studies from  Lesley University and studied at Andover Newton Theological School.

Joan lives in South Dennis, MA and is a clay artist–primarily sculpture and hand-building. She has led classes  for youth and adults in mask making and exploring creativity. Joan has three grown daughters and two grandsons ages 15 and 6.

She has worked in a variety of roles on the Cape, from the Director  of Operations at the Dennis Chamber of Commerce, Training and Office  Coordinator for the Cape & Islands Suicide Prevention Coalition, a  consultant for a Gateway Cities grant, working with high schools  developing career academies to the Cape & Islands Workforce  Investment Board where she managed grants and directed the School to  Careers Program. Joan is a certified suicide prevention trainer.