Our minister is available to talk with members and friends by appointment. A group of lay ministers, who are members of the congregation, also are trained to offer support to families experiencing illness or other difficulties. They can all be reached through the church office.

The Reverend James Ishmael Ford  
For James' blog while he is on sabbatical, click here, http://monkeymindonline.blogspot.com

Our senior minister James Ford has been serving Unitarian Universalist congregations for over ten years. Prior to his call to FUSN, James served churches in Wisconsin and Arizona.   James is both a social justice activist and one of the leaders of our denomination's resurgent engagement with spirituality. He has studied Buddhist meditation for more than thirty years and has been authorized as a spiritual director within two Zen lineages.   As a speaker and writer James emphasizes the necessity of joining the interior and the exterior, spirituality and social engagement. He sees his ministry as focused on the ways of reconciliation which he sees as "a joyful engagement with the world."  

You will find James in the pulpit at FUSN on every Sunday not set aside for lay-led services, intern ministers (when he joins the congregation), or the rare guest preacher! He is available to all members who need to speak with him—the fastest way to reach him is to call Fran Clancy, the FUSN administrator, who always knows his schedule. James’s pastoral work among the congregation includes consulting with new parents for baby dedications; counseling with, and conducting weddings for, members of the Society seeking marriage; advising bereaved families who need help making arrangements and conducting memorial services for them; meeting with teen-aged Coming-of-Age candidates, and generally looking after the spiritual needs of the members of his congregation.

James has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of This Very Moment: A Brief Introduction to Buddhism and Zen for Unitarian Universalists. He has also contributed to the UU pamphlet on "Prayer" and written "Faith of a UU Buddhist."   James lives in Auburndalewith his wife Jan, aunt Judy, and two cats.

Ministerial Intern
Catherine Senghas, our ministerial intern, is in the final stages of her ministerial formation. She is a seminarian at Andover Newton Theological School and has been a member of First Parish in Framingham for twenty years, where she has served in a variety of lay leadership roles. Catherine leaves a prior career in finance and administration, earlier in high tech and most recently at the Wellesley Centers for Women.

Lay Ministers

Click here for infromation on the "Death, Dying, and Community" workshop on November 10, 2007.

Click here to download the pdf file for the FUSN Lay Minister UU New England Conference presentation on 27 October 2007.

The individuals in our society designated as lay ministers help to coordinate assistance when needed, as a supplement to the ministers' pastoral work. To encourage communication among us, these lay ministers support opportunities for greater social connection and help to welcome and inform new members of our society and visitors.

While they are not trained therapists, the lay ministers are also here to provide listening ears should one wish to discuss employment, relationship, or disability problems, for example.

The lay ministers connect those with a need to those who can help to provide a variety of services such as: transportation to medical appointments or church functions, help with errands, occasional meals, occasional visits, emergency child or elder care, and help with our FUSN receptions e.g. memorial services.

To contact the lay ministers click here lay_ministers@fusn.org.

Click here to access the lay ministers page, a window will appear prompting you for a user id and password. The password is available to members and friends and is published in the church newsletter. Depending on the browser you use, you may be asked for the domain which is "fusn.org".

Small Group Ministry will help develop community and promote spiritual growth by creating an environment in which participants regularly talk together about the events of their lives, and about the ideas that engage them. SGM groups are not therapy, or affinity, or family groups, though they have some aspects in common with each of those categories. They're not intended to solve anybody's problems, or to provide spiritual enlightenment. They are intended to enable people to get to know each other in a neighborly way, to feel in touch with each other's lives, and to provide a context in which to think about and talk through "the big questions".