First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh

  605 Morewood Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2999
  412-621-8008

Reverend David Herndon, Senior Minister

Reverend David Herndon, Minister Reverend David Herndon has served First Unitarian Church since 1990. A lifelong Unitarian Universalist, he earned his undergraduate degree in physics from the College of William and Mary. He received his M.A. degree from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School in Chicago. In 2001, he received a Master of Public Management degree from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University.

July and August 2010

The summer season here at First Unitarian Church has a slower, more relaxed pace. We have just one Sunday morning worship service, and it begins at 10 AM. Our performing arts groups typically take a break for most of the summer. Some of our committees skip their July or August meeting. Our staff members
often take vacation weeks during the summer. The Women’s Alliance has “porch parties” at the homes of Alliance members. The Gathering of Men often has a Saturday retreat drifting down the river on a houseboat owned by one of our member families. The Sunday Morning Forum will have no presentations in July or August. Religious education classes for children will be a little more informal, and the middle school and high school classes will not be meeting over the summer. Moreover, we will not have spiritual themes of the month during July and August, thereby encouraging our members and friends to pursue their
personal spiritual journeys in less structured ways.

Nevertheless, there will certainly be much to do here at First Unitarian Church during July and August. Thanks to the organizational work of Rev. Crawford, you will be able to attend a video series on racial and cultural diversity as well as an adult religious education series on religious humanism. Membership Coordinator Devon Wood will be leading two Newcomer Orientation series of three sessions each, one in July and one in August; those new to First Unitarian Church are invited and encouraged to attend these. Our intern minister, Rev. Tom Bodie, will be presenting a wonderful six-session course called “A Chosen Faith” during the last three weeks in August; this course would be especially helpful for people who
have attended a Newcomers Orientation and would like to learn more about Unitarian Universalism. The Folk Orchestra will be holding an “open house” later in the summer for people who would like to try out the Folk Orchestra. We will continue with worship services and children’s religious education classes at 10 AM
on Sundays throughout the summer. Our ministers and our lay pastoral care team will be available in the summer should there be a need for pastoral attention during challenging personal situations. And, thanks to John Dellaera, many of us will attend a Pirates baseball game together at PNC Park on Saturday, July 17!

Thus, during the summer we continue to be a religious community dedicated to personal spiritual growth, social justice, caring human relationships, intellectual exploration, artistic expression, and community building. Our church feels different in the summer, but you will find that there are plenty of ways to stay connected and to become involved. I’m happy to report that the following church members and friends attended the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association from June 23 to June 27 in Minneapolis, Minnesota: Vespera Barrow, Brian Byers, Rev. Alma Faith Crawford, Jennifer Halperin, Jessie Halperin, Rev. David Herndon, Louise Jencik, Joe Jencik, Stephanie Miller, Kathy Parker, Renee Zimelis Ruchotzke (our former intern minister), and Devon Wood. I’m also anticipating that we will have a good strong contingent of church members and friends at the Ohio-Meadville Summer Institute, which will take place from July 11 through July 18 at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Hope to see you at some point during the summer!

David

P.S. If you are not currently on our email distribution list to receive occasional email notices about church events, please send your email address to David Herndon at dherndon@first-unitarian-pgh.org.

Renee Zimelis Ruchotzke, Student Minister

Renee Zimelis Ruchotzke is finishing up her coursework at Meadville Lombard Theological School as a Modified Residency Student (the same program that Jeff Liebman is in). She has completed a unit in Clinical Pastoral Education (chaplaincy training) at Akron General Medical Center.

She graduated from Kent State University Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in History. She “retired” from a 20+ year career as a mechanical engineer two years ago. She then served for two years as the Interim Director of Religious Education at East Shore UU Church in Kirtland, Ohio before taking a position as consulting student minister with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Canton, OhioCanton.

She currently serves as the Modified Residency Student representative on the Meadville Lombard Board of Trustees and as the Campus Ministry Coordinator at Kent State University for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent, where she is also a member. She is a member of the district Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association chapter and the Alban Institute. She recently served on the Ohio Meadville District's Leadership Development Team.

Before being called to ministry, she served her home congregation as Moderator, Finance Secretary and Registrar (Membership Trustee), as well as leader of classes in Adult Religious Exploration, Small Group Ministry and Children's Religious Education. She has written a biographical piece on Caroline Bartlett Crane for the Dictionary of UU Biography.

She is active in Social Justice work, having traveled with Kent State students in the Spring of 2006 to the Gulf Coast to assist in cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. Renee has organized various local events that connect the arts to justice and diversity work. She is the 2007 recipient of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Seminarian Award for Excellence in Social Justice. She also started a political action committee, Citizens for a Better Kent, to defend against the misuse of the recall provision in local city government.

Renee lives in Kent, Ohio with her husband, two children and two stepchildren.