The Stories That We Tell
Melinda McGucken, Worship Associate
David Blazer, Music Director
Most of my adult life was spent building a career, raising five children as a single parent and just trying to make my mark on the world. I held several management and director positions in Human Resources, Sales and Fundraising. My life has been a series of journeys and with each journey I have developed and grown. I moved to Cleveland in the summer of 2008, to start a new life with my partner, and a few years later started a consulting business.
In September of 2013, I received my call to the Ministry. Once I made the decision, things started to unfold for me. I enrolled at Meadville Lombard Theological School in the summer of 2014, completed a Chaplin’s residency in 2015, and spent 2016 and 2017 serving as the Minister Intern at the Kent UU church in Kent Ohio. In May of 2017, I graduated from Meadville. I was offered a position that summer as an Interim Minister for the Cape Town Unitarian Church in Cape Town, South Africa. Living and serving as a Minister outside of my native country has been and continues to be a life-changing experience. I have learned how to minister to a mixed multicultural and multiracial congregation. My time spent in South Africa was a life-changing experience. I have learned that it is always in the quiet moments of our lives when the Holy speaks to us. In January of 2019, I left South Africa to serve as the Interim Minister in Peoria, IL. I finished serving that congregation in June of 2020 and accepted a position to serve as the Sr. Interim Minister for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, IN, where I am currently serving. As an Interim Minister, it is always exciting to learn new ways to engage the congregation especially fostering deep and spiritual connections during this unique time of COVID-19.
