The Reverend Catherine Torpey became our settled minister in the Fall of 2005.
Catherine was born in Darien, CT and attended the University of Chicago where she received a bachelor's degree in history. She later graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. While in seminary she worked at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City and began her full time ministry as Minister for Youth and Young Adults at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK. For eight years, she ran the campus ministry program at Manhattanville College through its Duchesne Center for Religion and Social Justice, and has taught theology in two Catholic high schools. Along the way, Click here to read Catherine's Dec/Jan
Open Line column.
Catherine has served on the board of a number of non profit organizations focused on social justice issues. In her spare time she's developed an expertise in church fundraising and capital campaigns.
Thoughts on Worship
To worship is to set aside time to remember what is of greatest worth to us. Sunday morning worship should be an opportunity for each congregant to experience themselves as whole: to have an attitude of love and acceptance toward their inner selves, to have an attitude of love and acceptance toward those who are gathered into community, and to search for truth and meaning in life.
Worship should be beautiful. The physical space should be attractive, and the music should be of 
high quality. Beauty allows the congregants to feel a sense of joy and appreciation toward life. Sermons and readings should have enough intellectual appeal to foster the sense of wholeness, since our intellect is a part of who we are. However, every part of the service should serve to create a holistic worship experience. A holistic experience is one that engages the mind and the heart; it leaves one feeling both more accepting of one's faults and yet determined to make important changes; it leaves one more comfortable alone and yet more committed to community. Worship is not a lecture, a class, a concert or a performance. It is a sacred time set apart to foster the spiritual lives of those who gather.
On Music and the Arts
Music and the arts are vital parts of the spiritual life of a community. The aesthetic aspect of Sunday morning is far more important than the credit we sometimes give it. Every piece of music, every piece of art, ought to serve the worship experience as a whole. As the minister, I enjoy working closely with those providing music so that we are offering parishioners a deeply moving, integrated experience. The arts during Sunday morning worship ought not draw attention to themselves; rather, they ideally draw each parishioner's attention to their own inward hearts and to the joy of being in community.
In the life of a congregation other than Sunday mornings, participation in the arts can be vitally important to the development of a personal spiritual life. In this context, the object is not to produce high quality art; it is, rather, to produce a high quality experience of our creative selves.
On Religious Education of Children and Youth
Having a well-paid professional Director of Religious Education should be a high priority for any congregation. Children and youth deserve the highest quality program, with well-trained, loving adults and attractive classrooms. The Sunday morning program for children and youth should foster an atmosphere of acceptance, love and joy. Children ought to be steeped in the traditions of the congregation, Unitarian Universalism, and liberal religion and encouraged to articulate what is special about this community of which they are a part. The children and youth are encouraged to have meaningful participation in Sunday morning worship with the adults, and deserve a worship experience every week that is age appropriate.
Adult education is vitally important as well, as it is the means by which adults come to know one another more deeply, and by which they develop personally. As with children and youth, adult education should foster love and caring for one another, a strong emotional bond with the congregation and its traditions, and the fostering of a personal spiritual life.
On Theology
I am a theist. I am comfortable with traditional theological language, including liturgical use of the word "God," and I incorporate any religious words and ideas which help me give clearer expression to my faith. For instance, I am deeply influenced by Zen ideas of being "present in the moment" and having "beginner's mind." I hope that those who disagree with me to use the language and express the theology which most makes sense to them. I do not believe that we help one another grow theologically by avoiding saying things out of fear that someone somewhere might object. Rather than watering down our thoughts or language, it is more enriching to invite dialogue with those who have other theologies; I invite interested members to share their own spiritual journeys and theological views. As minister, I do my best to state my beliefs courageously and clearly, hoping that my manner of doing so will invite others in, rather than excluding them. As UU's, we do not expect everyone to agree with us; but rather, we expect that we gather together in the spirit of love and mutual encouragement.
Dear friends,
To be content or not to be? That is the question. With all the discontent on our streets, we enter a season of joy and thanksgiving. So, do we express outrage at what is wrong with our country, our world and our lives? Or, as people seeking a religious or spiritual path in this Unitarian Universalist congregation, do we focus on what is good and fulfilling in our lives?
Most religious traditions encourage us to be grateful.
In the New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul admonishes his readers: "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances." In all circumstances? Many times, conditions are so far from the ideal that it seems foolish to give thanks. After all, if we find ourselves in an unjust situation, won't our gratitude be a tacit endorsement of that injustice? Won't giving thanks in unjust circumstances only encourage greater injustice? Won't loving certain family members despite the way they have treated us injure our dignity and encourage their bad behavior? Won't loving "the one percent" further their agenda, and not that of the ninety-nine percent? Won't gratitude and thanksgiving in the midst of difficulty dissipate the energies we need to change our circumstances?
It sounds right, and in the logic of a broken heart, it feels undeniably true. But over and over again, those who have lived the most admirable lives in public or in private tell us that the key to making change is to
begin in a spirit of gratitude, joy and love. In the latest edition of the Occupied Wall Street Journal, Professor Cornell West writes, "Justice is what love looks like in public and tenderness is what love feels like in
private." The apostle Paul was a man who knew injustice. He had both perpetrated it against Christians before his conversion and suffered it afterward, so it is difficult to accuse him of naiveté.
I love that in our part of the world, the season of joy and thanksgiving takes place at the darkest, coldest time of the year. In the midst of that darkness and cold, we light a candle, huddle together, and give thanks for light, for family, for hope and for a vision of a world made new.
Yours in faith, hope and love, Catherine