About Emily

Where I’m From…

I was born in New Orleans, LA as the youngest of three children and the only girl. and spent my childhood in the Episcopal Church.

Where I’ve Been…

After graduating from Florida State with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre, she left the church of her parents to be a disciple of the American Theatre. She moved straight to New York City right after college to pursue a challenging but rewarding professional career in theatre. Working as part of such a creative and collaborative community fed a deep need in her for connection and shared work towards a common cause. Of her thirteen years in New York, she spent ten years alone at the Public Theatre, where advancing the role of theatre as an agent for social change was the order of the day. Serving as the Associate General Manager, she was excited and grateful to support the work of artists that protested the Iraq War, fought for marriage equality and dissected issues of race in America among many other cultural and political issues.

After ten years at the Public, she could no longer avoid the still small voice that was calling her to something more. She moved to Providence RI to take a position as the Department Manager for the Theatre Arts program at Brown University, a lateral move that built upon her existing skills for supervisory and financial management. In Providence, she continued her search for what her ‘second act’ would be. It was there she discovered Unitarian Universalism - the First Unitarian Church of Providence to be exact.

What I Believe…

Unitarian Universalism encouraged her questions and made space for her doubts about God, what it means to be religious and exactly how one lives their faith out in the world. Through becoming a Unitarian Universalist, she has come to embrace a belief in a God that cannot be fully comprehended. A faith in God beyond human scope and therefore a faith that does not provide concrete answers. This expansive God brings freedom rather than fear—a freedom to explore her Christian roots for new ways to seek wisdom from Scripture and theology. She also feels freer knowing that faith is not finite but a lifelong search for meaning.

Where I Am Going…

Through her membership at First U in Providence, the wise and compassionate counsel of friends and mentors, and a great deal of soul searching, Emily embraced her calling to UU ministry with excitement, gratitude and a deep sense of grace. She graduated from Yale Divinity School in May 2019 and immediately embarked on two ministries - as the ministerial intern for the UU Area Church in Sherborn MA, and as campus minister for Andover Newton students at Yale Divinity School - while preparing for and completing her requirements for the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. After passing her Oct 1, 2020 MFC interview, she is eagerly awaiting her ordination with the UU Area Church in Sherborn MA, tentatively scheduled for late Spring 2021.