Our Minister

Our Interim Minister Search

First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh is currently between ministers. Our minister for the last 28 years, the Rev. David Herndon, ended his ministry December 2018. We are currently in the process of finding an Interim Minister who would arrive in September 2019 and who would help lead us for the next two years. For more information on the Interim Minister Search process, click here.

Our Commissioned Lay Minister

Our church is currently being served by our Commissioned Lay Minister Stephanie Pawlowski. A Commissioned Lay Minister is an active and committed lay member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation; someone who has a high level of integrity and has earned the respect of fellow congregants. Stephanie has completed her almost three years of training and interviewed with the Commissioned Lay Minister Council of the Central East Region. She was officially commissioned by our congregation in December of 2018. Stephanie’s ministry is focused on worship services and rites of passage (weddings, baby dedications and memorial services).
Stephanie has an undergraduate degree in Religion from Bethany College.  Following college, she took a different path professionally and received a law degree from the State University of NY at Buffalo.  Stephanie currently works full time as a lawyer and works with First Church as a volunteer.  Stephanie lives in Point Breeze with her husband, Mark, their two children, Evelyn and Katie, and Evelyn’s service dog, Gibbs.

Our Consulting Minister

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​The Reverend John Ballance is a long time Unitarian Universalist from the UU Church of the North Hills and is recent graduate of the Meadville Lombard Theological School of Chicago, Illinois. John is well known at First Unitarian Church since he completed his ministerial internship in our congregation in 2016. Rev. Ballance was ordained by the UU Church of the North Hills in 2018. Rev. Ballance will be serving our church this spring as a part-time consulting minister focusing primarily on pastoral care. Rev. Ballance can be reached by email at johnbballance@gmail.com or by phone at 724-312-4712.