Gerald Oelberg died on April 3, 2025, at the age of 87 (1938-2025). He is survived by his wife, the Rev. Sarah Oelberg, one brother Sanford, four children Brian, David, Joy and Sylvia, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. A service of remembrance will be held on October 5, 2025 at 1:00 in the cemetery of Nora UU church, Hanska MN. Following the church service conducted by his wife, Sarah, there will be a Norwegian smorgasbord.
In memory of Gerald, UURMaPA will contribute to the Ministerial Relief Fund, which offers financial aid to ministers and partners.
A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed. The obituary will be published in an upcoming issue of Elderberries, and will be available on the UURMaPA website. If any readers would wish to contribute information or reminiscences, we would welcome them. Please send them to UURMaPA’s partner obituary editor, Eleanor Richardson, grandmoot@aol.com
Worship has always been a big part of our UURMaPA conferences, and our next in April, is no exception. On April 21st, we will feature an opening worship to center our attention, and on April 23rd, a closing worship to remind us of our connections and of our cyber-experience being together.
This spring, our worship services will be produced by a team of people led by Joan VanBecelaere. She gathered Kathleen Fowler, Chris Jones-Leavy, Alison Wohler, Jef Gamblee, Mark Belletini, and David Bumbaugh.
Spring 2025-Worship Team
In addition to the opening and closing worship services, they will produce a service of remembrance, honoring those ministers and partners who died since our last conference or were not included in a previous remembrance service. We will remember our departed colleagues and partners who died before March 25th. Those who died after that date will be honored during the fall conference.
This service has always been important to our conference attendees, as they are reminded of their colleagues’ ministries and their own ministry. Kathleen Fowler had the enviable job of compiling biographical data and composing the obituaries. She found the experience of working on the obituaries to be captivating. She said, “It was enriching to learn the passions and interests of the various ministers and spouses and how they felt their faith was calling them to be in the world and to express their theology.
“Through social justice action, through offering a welcoming and compassionate presence to the world, through thoughtful self-reflection, through self-revelation in sermons and, of course, through ministering to folks in the pews, these individuals paint a picture of offered love, again and again. They are an inspiration to me and make me proud to be a Unitarian Universalist.”
This spring, we honor the ministry and legacy of:
Rev. Robert Lewis Jean Newton Box Rev Dr. Faith Grover Scott Rev. Dr. Arthur E. Curtis Rev. Doddie L. Stone Rev. Margaret A. Keip Rev. Ronald Wayne Knapp Rev. Coleen Squires Maxine S. Steeves Rev. Harry H. Hoehler Lackey Rowe Paula Kreisberg Ulrich Rev. John Richard Weston Edwin Charles Lynn Rev. Daniel Brosier Rev. Dr. Patrick O’Neill Rev. Barbara Carlson
Our conference begins April 21 and wraps up April 23. Registration is open at uurmapa.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2752248 The fee is $45, and there are no tariffs, no matter your nationality. Financial aid is available, and if you need it, write to treasurer@uurmapa.org before you register. After you register, please send a selfie to jeffbriere@gmail.com for inclusion in the beauty pageant, AKA, the slide show.
The preliminary program schedule and more information about the theme presentation by Karen Hering, Ministorys, odysseys, and a concert with Melanie DeMore is posted on our website, uurmapa.org and on our Facebook page facebook.com/groups/2003125769981908
Reverend Dr. Susan Veronica Rak, UURMaPA Board President … March, 2025
Well, how are you all doing? We’ve been witnessing some pretty frightful things (life-destroying fires and floods, a season fraught with soul-draining, system-destroying and economic mayhem—at least here in the U.S.), and for each of us some personal struggles and triumphs.
However it is with your spirit at the moment, I do hope you are looking forward to joining your fellow UURMaPAns for the Spring Conference, coming up in just a couple of short months! It seems like it will be an opportunity to build resilience to face whatever besets us, and also to feel the joy of being together, even if it’s virtual.
Back in January, I did a guest preaching gig and was hard-pressed to conjure a suitable topic and service to meet their situation. I started with a general idea and went from there, choosing the title “Be the Blessing.”
The days before the service I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Me, a blessing? Bless who, or what … and when? Now, in this moment, we may not all feel particularly blessed or strong enough to take up the challenge of blessing anyone. So I’m just going to share a snippet of what I wrote; maybe it will spur some thoughts in you.
Episcopal priest and writer Barbara Brown Taylor wrote that the best way to discover what giving blessings or being a blessing is all about is to pronounce a few.
A blessing begins in noticing—seeing what is before us as it is…as hard as that may be at times. And this seeing, this noticing, should take us out of ourselves, shift our focus from our own navel, our own importance or centrality, and open ourselves to others.
“Start throwing blessings around,” Taylor continues, “and chances are you will start noticing all kinds of things you never noticed before.”
When you’re in line at the store, maybe impatiently tapping your foot or nudging your cart, try blessing the people around you. The person in front of you, the clerk at the register (if there is one) or the person trying to herd the crowds through the self-checkout lines; the increasing line of people behind you, the whining child and the fumbling adult juggling too many things.
Every one of them is dealing with something significant. We just don’t know for sure, but we can still care. They are heading somewhere, just as you are. And they are no more certain of what’s happening at the other end than you are.
To pronounce or offer a silent blessing is to offer attention and pay heed to what happens in the air between you and that other person—and all those other people. Something shifts. They may never notice you or feel that blessing directly, but something changes inside you. Something is pulling you into community, as we are drawn to one another by an invisible thread. And perhaps in this we gain more courage to find ways to protest and resist what is wrongful and corrupt.
We offer blessings, not because we are divine beings who have super powers that give people special things, but because we are human beings who can learn and appreciate what a blessing is and how to give them away.
To choose to bless the world, as Rev. Dr. Rebecca Ann Parker once advised us, brings us into community. And in it we become that blessing.
Friends, fellow UURMaPAns, it may not be much, but it’s what I can offer in this moment.
“Ministory” is a project in development by Wayne Walder. After a single session this spring, Wayne has plans for a larger presentation in the fall.
Wayne has long been fascinated by the power of stories, especially those stories that we know from our time in ministry. He believes our stories deserve a degree of reverence and that they can teach us about our selves and our ministries.
Strangely, though, Wayne found it difficult to coax us into telling our stories. He said, “I was surprised to notice some reluctance among us for telling our personal stories. I think I understand. We have been servants, and servants don’t tell stories. We don’t tell them because serving others, by its very definition, is not about us. We keep stories about our ministry to ourselves.”
But Wayne believes we are no longer servants, “Remembering our ministry and its stories, can help us remember the goodness of our lives, the goodness of our work, the love we shared, the confusion we experienced, the insight we felt and the pain we grieved.”
Wayne found a few of us who were willing to share their story, so he recorded Jake Morrill, Jan Carlsson-Bull, Colleen McDonald and Jane Rzepka, and will present a segment on April 22nd, the second day of our conference.
3 storytellers
He said, “We hunger for stories, even the telling of our own. They comfort us, remind us of our work, and they hold up the life we shared. Our work was, is, bigger than we remember.”
Of course we’d love for you to attend every session, but if your time is limited, you can check out the schedule at our website, uurmapa.org/Activities. More information about the theme presentation, odysseys, the service of remembrance and a concert with Melanie DeMore is posted on our website, and on our Facebook page.
The conference will Zoom right to your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or you can listen in with a cell phone or landine. Registration is $45, a bargain these days, and scholarships are readily available. To apply for a scholarship, send a message to treasurer@uurmapa.org but do this before you attempt to register.
In–person gatherings, AKA, pods, are organized in Wilmington DE and Kingston MA. Please indicate your desire to attend a pod when you register. Additional financial aid is available to cover pod costs, and you can apply for that after the conference with a message to treasurer@uurmapa.org
After you register, please send a selfie to jeffbriere@gmail.com for inclusion in the slide show.
March 2, 2025. The conference planning team recently received messages from members who were concerned that our conference theme did not seem to address current events in our country. They feared our conference might miss an opportunity to provide resources and support during this unprecedented time.
We asked our theme presenter, Karen Hering, how her presentation might help our members navigate these strange and dangerous days. This is her reply:
“In the urgent crises unfolding in Washington DC and beyond, it is worth asking how the UURMaPA conference in April can equip and support us, as we each find our way forward.
“I have often been asked, having written a book titled Trusting Change, how can we trust change when it brings heartbreaking losses or even nightmarish realities? Surely both of these are true now, as we experience many seismic and unthinkable changes occurring at breakneck speed. What can be trustworthy with so much at stake and so much beyond our control?
“Tai ji teacher Chungliang Al-Huang has often advised his students, ‘First get centered; then explore your options.’ It is helpful wisdom not only when learning new tai ji forms but also when experiencing the loss of balance and direction caused by great change.
“And as we ask ourselves: what might be my next move, or what is my next right action? First get centered. Find the ground beneath your feet. Reconnect with your body, your balance, your surroundings and your communities. Reconnect with gravity itself. First get centered; then explore your options.
“This will be our focus in the URMaPA conference, ‘Called to Connect in Times of Great Change.’ When we are tossed about by change – in our nation, our world or our personal lives – how can we regain our balance to better respond to the threats and dangers now arising? What practices and understandings will connect us to our embodied wisdom and to the powers found in community and in solidarity with others?
“In the tumult and terrors of this time, each of us may be asking regularly, what is my role in the resistance and resilience needed now? Each of us must discern what that role is, and how it might change from day to day or month to month, as our own lives and the circumstances around us shift rapidly and wildly.
“Fortunately, in the UUA, we have many resources to aid our discernment, including webinars and resources prepared by the Side with Love campaign, and books like Social Change Now, by Deepa Iyer, published by Skinner House.
“Our time together at the UURMaPA conference will explore how, in the changes unfolding today, we can find enough trustworthy ground from which to choose our own way forward in meeting this moment. We’ll be using embodied practices, poetry and music as well as reflection through writing and conversation. This is a session intended to both comfort and challenge us, as we consider what we are each called to be and to do now.
“I look forward to our time together in April. Until then, I share this December post from my Substack as a further reflection on how we find trustworthy ground in times of frightening change. I also offer this music video ‘We Choose,‘ by Lea Morris, created in an earlier year and relevant still today, and shared with her permission.
“Wishing you both inspiration and support for your own grounding and discernment in this time.”
The UURMaPA spring conference features two odysseys, one with Phyllis Morales and one with Scotty McLennan. The conference begins Monday, April 21 and the odysseys are scheduled on the first day and the last day (Wednesday, April 23).
Phyllis Morales
Phyllis calls her odyssey, “The U-Haul Chronicles: An Illustrated Odyssey.” Married to the Rev. Peter Morales for 58 years, her odyssey recounts in photographs, 79 years, 2 children, 4 careers, 28 moves through 4 countries and 7 states. Fasten your seatbelt! She began her odyssey as a special education teacher, then moved into journalism and desktop publishing. She taught herself Spanish in her 40s and founded a scholarship program for Mayan youth in Guatemala. Her connection to Guatemala is strong, as she sheltered a Guatemalan family for 10 years. She is a leader in Community Search and Rescue.
Scotty McLennan
Scotty McLennan wonders how to age gracefully in a way that might be helpful to all of us as retired UU ministers and partners. He was raised on Chicago’s north shore as a conservative Presbyterian Republican, but rebelled as a teenager and became a liberal UU Democrat. He graduated from Harvard divinity and law schools to become an inner-city minister-at-law for 10 years with the UU Urban Ministry in Boston. He turned to academia, where he spent 30 years as the university chaplain at Tufts and Stanford. He now teaches ethics part-time at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He married Ellen 44 years ago and has two children and three grandchildren. He loves traveling, spending time in California’s wine country, and asking existential questions like “Why are we here?” He wonders how a conservative Protestant Republican from the Midwest became Garry Trudeau’s “Rev. Scot Sloan” in Doonesbury – “the fighting young priest who can talk to the young.”
“Called to Connect in the Midst of Change” is our theme and presenting it is Karen Hering, author of the book, Trusting Change: Finding Our Way through Personal and Global Transformation. If you wish to purchase Karen Hering’s book, Trusting Change, you will enjoy a discount when using the code HERING at inSpirit, uuabookstore.org when you buy the book.
Registration for the conference is now open. Follow this link to register: uurmapa.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2752248 Or follow the news for the conference link on our home page. Tuition is $45.00, a bargain these days. Financial aid is available and you can apply for that by sending a message to treasurer@uurmapa.org If this is your first UURMaPA conference, use code FIRSTTIMER when you register and we’ll waive the fee.
This conference will be mediated through Zoom, but two in-person pods will be organized, in Wilmington DE and in Kingston MA. If you wish to attend either of these pods, you can indicate that when you register. More news about pods will be forthcoming.
For more information about these features of the conference, please make sure your contact information is updated at our website and watch for email from us. Our FaceBook page will also be updated with conference news.
The Rev. Edward “Ted” B. Anderson died on February 18, 2025, at the age of 90 (1934-2025).
Ted was born on April 22, 1934, in New Haven CT, to Carl E. Anderson and Frances Burton Anderson. He grew up alongside his parents, grandmother, and his brother John. Raised in a New England Congregational church, he attended his senior year of high school in England. From 1954–1957, Ted served in the United States Army on outpost duty in Alaska. Following his military service, he earned his Bachelor of Arts with a major in English from Yale University CT in 1959, and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University MA in 1960. He then taught secondary school English at Cheshire High School CT, from 1960–1963.
Motivated by a deep concern for the spiritual welfare and development of young people, Ted returned to Yale and earned his Master of Divinity in 1966. That same year, he accepted a position as a chaplain/teacher at Millbrook School in Millbrook NY. There, he taught English, History, Ecology, and Religion, coached hockey, and directed the environmental studies program and ornithology research station. This experience shaped his thinking in a liberal direction. In 1970, he resigned from Millbrook School to seek employment more aligned with his theology. He moved to Nantucket MA, where his parents lived, and worked as a carpenter while discerning his next steps.
Ever since moving to Nantucket, Ted served as a guest minister at the Second Congregational Meeting House Society, UU, in Nantucket MA, several times during 1970 and 1971. As he continued his interim service with the congregation, he became increasingly delighted by the parishioners and their religious thinking. He felt he had found a community whose values were compatible with his own. In 1971, he accepted a call from the Second Congregational Meeting House to become their pastor and served until 1999.
Under Rev. Anderson’s leadership, the congregation experienced a renewed spirit, a new attitude, and a new sense of direction. The religious education program expanded significantly. The Rev. Anderson took on the role of R.E. director, teaching Sunday School and leading the youth group himself to help revive both programs. The church grew in both size and attendance, drawn by the content and intellectual depth of his ministry. New residents, as well as long-time community members who previously had no church affiliation, became a part of the church family. Inspired by his leadership and example, the church trustees became more engaged and assumed greater responsibility in the church’s affairs. Younger members also began to participate more actively, served on committees, and were elected to the board. The Rev. Anderson’s ministry also brought greater volunteer involvement in the church program. Upon his retirement in 2000, the Second Congregation Meeting House Society honored him as their minister emeritus.
In addition to his parish ministry, the Rev. Anderson was a recognized leader in the Nantucket community. He served as an elected member of the community school board, where he was known as a concerned, informed citizen and a compassionate realist. He volunteered at the Nantucket Fire Department as a fireman, a chaplain, and an aerial ladder man.
Ted was a vigorous and lively presence. His candor and honesty allowed others to invest their trust and confidence in him. Deeply passionate about Chaucer, he spent much of his life studying The Canterbury Tales in depth. He could recite a verse in Old English, sing a folk song in Russian, reference teachings from ancient religions, and was interested in the politics of 14th-century Europe.
After retirement, Ted and Gretchen traveled the world, studying art history, and continued to tend their gardens, bees, and hens at their beloved home, Two Sheds Farm.
Ted is survived by his wife Gretchen Anderson; children Kathy Caldwell, Candee Adams, and Roger Anderson; and grandchildren Doug Caldwell, Rachael Caldwell, and Eric Adams.
A memorial gathering will took place on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at the Second Congregational Meeting House Society, UU.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Second Congregational Meeting House Society, UU, 11 Orange Street, PO Box 1023, Nantucket MA 02554. Notes of condolences can be sent to Gretchen Anderson, 31 Somerset Rd, Nantucket MA 02554.
The Rev. Daniel “Dan” Brosier died on February 16, 2025, at the age of 71 (1953-2025).
Dan was born on April 14, 1953, in Midland MI, to James Sam Brosier and Emily Catharine Brosier. A high-achieving student, he graduated in the top 10% of his high school class and served as Student Council President. He went to Michigan State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1976. After college, he worked at Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan, starting as a dormitory counselor and later advancing to Dean of Students. From 1984–1986, Dan worked as a preschool teacher at Skytown Preschool in Berkeley CA. He then worked as a church gardener and assistant sexton at the First Unitarian Church in Berkeley before earning his Master of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry in 1987. Dan had long felt called to the UU ministry. As a UU minister, his calling was to support the development of others and encourage theological exploration. Whether through Sunday services, Life Span Religious Education, one-on-one counseling, committee meetings, retreats, social gatherings, or the everyday activities of the community, he sought to nurture spiritual growth and connection.
The Rev. Brosier was ordained to the UU ministry by the First Unitarian Church of Worcester MA on November 15, 1987. The following year (1988), he accepted a call from the UU Church of Elgin IL, where he would serve until 2013. Under his leadership, the congregation experienced a profound transformation, fostering a spirit of unity and collaboration. The whole attitude of the congregation changed for the better. He was a vibrant and inspirational leader to the congregation; he encouraged open dialogue and helped members work through their differences. He played a key role in the development of the church’s social concerns committee. During his tenure, several building projects were undertaken; he even served as a general contractor during construction efforts and was the only contractor of their current building. In recognition of his decades of dedicated service, the Elgin church honored him as their minister emeritus in 2013.
The Rev. Brosier was an excellent preacher and a very personable minister. He could listen to others and make them feel heard, valued, and affirmed. He brought a sense of steadiness to his ministry and found deep fulfillment in helping and working alongside others, embracing his ministry as a path of service and shared discovery.
In addition to his parish ministry, Rev. Brosier provided his services to the broader denomination. He was a member of the UUMA and the Extension Committee of the Pacific Central District (1986). He served as an Administrative Assistant to the Pacific Central District (1986) and contributed to the Central Midwest District’s RE Committee (1991–1994). In 1993, the Rev. Brosier served the CMD UUMMA Chapter Nominating Committee and took on the role of Youth Minister for the Chapter.
In the Elgin community, Dan was a charter member of the Board of Trustees of the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin and a member of the Elgin Interracial Clergy Alliance. His dedication to social justice extended to his roles on the Domestic Violence Advisory Board, where he served as a Domestic Violence Chaplain, offering support to those in need. He was a member of the At-Risk Youth Program Committee, the Literacy Advisory Council, and the U-46 School District’s Clergy Council.
Dan found joy in nature and cherished time spent fishing. His love for the outdoors reflected his deep appreciation for the environment, a value he carried throughout his life. He also had a sweet tooth and never missed an opportunity to enjoy his favorite treats. Traveling brought him great happiness, and he treasured every moment exploring new places with loved ones. Above all else, Dan valued time with his family, creating countless memories filled with laughter and love.
Dan’s wife Katherine, shared: “A favorite quote of his was, ‘Stay the course’. He was truly a steadying presence for the church and for his family.” Dan is survived by his wife of 37 years, Katherine; and his children: Emma (Aaron) and Sam (Sara).
A memorial gathering was held at 3 pm on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the UU Church of Elgin, 39W830 Highland Ave, Elgin IL 60124. Notes of condolence may be written here.
The Rev. Edwin “Ed” Charles Lynn died on February 10, 2025, at the age of 89 (1935-2025).
Ed was born in Hartford CT, on November 12, 1935, to Charles K. Lynn and Edna C. Lynn. He spent most of his early years in Manchester CT, where he attended Manchester High School. An Eagle Scout, he excelled in athletics, earning a state record in the long jump and on the cross-country team, and participating in basketball.
Ed pursued a career in architecture, graduating as a valedictorian with a Bachelor of Architecture from the Syracuse University School of Architecture, NY in 1958. While at Syracuse, he was introduced to Unitarianism and became involved with the Syracuse May Memorial Unitarian Church. After attaining his architectural registration in Colorado, Ed and his wife settled in Denver, where he worked for an architectural firm.
In 1961, Ed transitioned from architecture to liberal education, joining the Great Book Foundation as Southwest Area Director and relocating to Dallas TX. Over time, he felt that liberal education provided the general knowledge necessary for developing a worldview, but ultimately, one’s conduct and judgment stemmed from the principles or convictions shaped by religion. He believed that primary development is religious in origin and felt a call to cultivate intellectually perceptive and spiritually sensitive individuals.
The Unitarian church, through the precepts of democratic action, spiritual freedom, and individual thought, embodied the ideals that Ed most valued and offered a meaningful path for his contributions. As a UU minister, he sought to draw attention to the broad spectrum of the world and hoped that the members of the church would become stimulated by the varied concepts of philosophies and religion. In 1967, he graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry with his Master of Divinity.
The Rev. Lynn was ordained on December 10, 1967, by the First Unitarian Society of Milford NH, where he served his first ministry, 1967–1972. During his tenure, he became committed to creating an atmosphere of meditation and beauty as an integral dimension of religious experience. As a result, worship services began having greater meaning. Music became more varied and relevant, the service format became more direct and simpler, and congregational participation flourished. The Rev. Lynn brought creativity and vision to the pulpit and beyond. He conducted several experimental programs and provided leadership for better artistic standards for the Sunday services, helping the church become recognized as a major contributor to the intellectual and artistic life of the wider community. He also initiated small group activities, from a play reading group to a contemporary issues discussion group. Under his leadership, the church’s religious education program was revitalized with a more relevant curriculum and scheduling procedure, and the adult programs became diversified and active.
In 1972, the Rev. Lynn accepted a call from the Northshore UU Church in Danvers MA, where he would serve for 33 years until his retirement (1972–2005). Through Sunday services, sermons, traditions, rites of passage, community service, and a whole range of ministerial activities, he brought beauty and peace as well as awareness and challenges to the members. He helped create a community where each member shared their talents and interests for the spiritual enrichment of all. In 2005, in recognition of his decades of dedicated service, the Northshore UU Church honored him as their minister emeritus.
In addition to his parish ministries, Rev. Lynn held various leadership roles within the denomination. He completed two terms on the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee and was a co-coordinator for the Conference for Architects and Consultants at the UUA. He worked as a denominational counselor at Harvard Divinity School, 1986–1987, participated in the UUA Pamphlet Commission, and contributed cartoons to the UUA Ministers Association Newsletter. Furthermore, he served on the board of the UUA Religious Arts Guild and was President of the UU Ministers Association.
He brought a unique blend of ministry and architectural expertise to the denomination, serving as an architectural consultant to over 20 UU churches. He was recognized as an outstanding facilitator and helped congregations move from general program goals to specific architectural priorities. His interest in remodeling existing facilities and the cooperative building of new structures culminated in the Beacon Press book, Tired Dragons: Adapting Church Architecture To Changing Needs.
Ed also served his local communities as president of the New Hampshire/Vermont Ministers Association and Board Chair of the District Church Programs Committee. He served on the board of the Isaac Munroe Foundation. In North Shore communities of Boston, he was active with the Danvers Clergy Association and the North Shore Hospice.
In his leisure time, he enjoyed drawing, playing tennis, listening to music, reading, and taking long walks. During retirement, Ed and his wife Marj spent a great deal of time traveling the world and at the beach, enjoying the coastal amenities of Ipswich and the North Shore of Massachusetts. All they needed to be content was the sea, cappuccino, and each other.
Ed is survived by his children Bruce (Lori) and Sharyl (Scott); and grandchildren Isley, Chase, Katrina, and Max. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Marjorie Lynn.
A memorial service was held on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the Northshore UU Church, 323 Locust St, Danvers MA 01923. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Marj Lynn Memorial Fund, with checks payable to NSUU (‘Marj Lynn Memorial Fund’ in Memo) c/o Northshore UU Church, 323 Locust Street, Danvers MA 01923. Notes of condolences may be written here.
The conference planning team is excited to welcome Melanie DeMore for a concert as part of the spring conference, April 21 through 23. Melanie will appear in the third session on the first day of the conference.
Singer-songwriter Melanie DeMore has a remarkable voice, weaving the fibers of African American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals and her own original music. DeMore artfully brings her audience together through her music and commentary. She has toured extensively, singing at festivals, universities, in coffee houses and concert halls. Her recordings “Share My Song” and “Come Follow Me” are heartfelt collections of her music.
In addition to her solo work, DeMore facilitates vocal workshops for professional and community-based choral groups and has taught her program called “Sound Awareness” in schools, prisons, and youth organizations in the US, Canada, Cuba and New Zealand.
DeMore was a California Artist in Residence with the Oakland Youth Chorus for 10 years and has received an award from the Music Educators National Conference for her work with young singers and artists. She is on the music faculty at St. Paul’s School in Oakland CA where she teaches a cappella singing. DeMore is also a founding member of the Grammy nominated, critically-acclaimed vocal ensemble “Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir,” a group that tours extensively in this country and abroad.
DeMore traces her interest in music to her parents who started one of the first Black theater groups in Alaska in the early 60’s. DeMore majored in music at Incarnate Word University in San Antonio, Texas, and later worked as a studio musician, was a member of a melodrama company, sang in the black women’s a cappella group Scintilla, sang for commercials and wrote music for the theater.
DeMore describes her music as “in the African-American folk tradition of Odetta,” to whom she has often been compared, noting, “I have a very, very, very low voice.” She has shared the stage with numerous artists including Buffy Saint Marie, John Prine, Josh White, Jr., Laura Nyro, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Pete Seeger.
Known to the mothers of screaming babies as a human pacifier. Known to the parents of difficult children as the child whisperer, she transforms the raw energy of human beings into flowing rhythms, self empowering awareness, with a sweet top note of humor and not taking oneself too seriously. An admitted kid at heart, Melanie loves to inject her effervescent playfulness into traditionally serious forums and gatherings, reminding us to lighten up, step “out the way” and let our spirits do their dance.
In her own words: “A song can hold you up when there’s no ground beneath you.”
Other features of this conference will be Odysseys with Scotty McLennan and Phyllis Morales, and a service of remembrance honoring those we’ve lost. We’ll also have the chance to meet our colleagues in Connecting Rooms and worship services. For more information about these features of the conference, please make sure your contact information is updated at our website and watch for email from us. Our FaceBook page will also be updated with conference news.
This conference will be Zoomed, but two in-person pods will be organized, in Wilmington DE and in Kingston MA. If you wish to attend either of these pods, you can indicate that when you register. More news about pods will be forthcoming.
