Second Minister Search Committee Recommendation

The Second Minister Search Committee is very pleased to announce that on May 20 it voted unanimously to recommend the hiring of Peter Boullata for the position of Associate Minister. Many parishioners will well remember Peter from his two wonderful years as our Ministerial Intern, 2000-2002.

While your Search Committee carefully reviewed the credentials of all 15 applicants who expressed interest in the position, the committee concluded that Peter's ministerial interests, personal qualifications and professional experience most closely matched the requirements of the position as determined last fall by our Ministerial Configuration Committee.

Raised in the province of Quebec, Peter received his B.A. in English from Concordia University in Montreal in1992 and his M. Div. from Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, in 2002. While in Toronto, Peter served as the lay chaplain at the First Unitarian Congregation and, for one year, as youth minister. After spending the next two years with us in Weston, Peter was called to be the minister of the fledgling Epiphany Church in Fenton, Michigan. Remaining in Fenton until 2005, Peter was invited to take a year-long position as the interim minister at the Unitarian Church of Montreal. He is currently completing a second interim ministry in Peterborough, Ontario.

We believe Peter comes to us with great strengths. The committee was immediately impressed with his engaging personality, youthful energy, enthusiasm, sense of humor, and candor. Throughout the extensive interviewing process Peter revealed himself to be a careful listener, as well as forthcoming and articulate in responding to our many questions. We were convinced that he has a clear understanding of the requirements of the position. He impressed us with his many ideas regarding programming for church school and youth, social justice issues, reaching out to parishioners, and working collaboratively with Tom and other staff. Committee members had the opportunity to hear Peter preach, as well as tell a children's story, and recalled that he had already demonstrated his ease in the pulpit when he was an intern at First Parish.

Asked about his non-professional interests, Peter wrote: "I enjoy cooking, film, art galleries and museums. I am an avid cyclist, hiker, and reader. I also enjoy being actively engaged in my community and in social change movements, particularly in the areas of the environment, civil rights, and community development."

Characterized by one of his references as "the Pied Piper for the children" in one of the churches where he served, Peter described his approach to the religious education of children, youth, and adults as follows: "I see religious education as being a life-long process. We are all learners in the areas of faith, moral choices, and relationships. Youngsters need encouragement to explore, to ask questions. Most importantly, they learn about what it means to be human and religious by being part of a community, in relation with people of all ages in the congregation."

When asked about his theological orientation, Peter stated: "Like most Unitarian Universalists my theology is much more eclectic than a single label.... I am able to converse with those who differ from me theologically in a respectful way. At some level there is a reason we are all Unitarian Universalists and, more often than not, in my experience in churches, relationships are more important than ideology."

In conclusion, we are very enthusiastic about recommending Peter Boullata for the Associate Minister position at First Parish, and feel that he will be a welcome, vibrant and inspirational presence for our congregation.

Search Committee:
Imogene Fish, Chair
Jim Beams, Cristy Brackett, Barbara Burgess, Inge Engler,
Tod Foote, Kelly Larocque, Tom Wintle