The Ministerial Search Team (MST) was formed in Spring of 2025 by the FUS Board of Trustees using a combination of a congregational vote and appointments made by the FUS Board of Trustees (to ensure a balanced cross-section of the congregation). This team of eight met for the first time in late May and spent the summer meeting every other week to begin work on the tasks they are charged with:
- Assessing members’ beliefs and perceptions about who we are and what our congregation needs from its next minister
- Constructing a congregational record and assembling key documents that help ministers in search learn about our congregation
- Evaluating and conducting interviews with 2-3 pre-candidates for our next settled minister (the identities of which will remain confidential), and
- Identifying a final candidate to be presented for a congregational vote in the Spring of 2026.
Search Timeline
FUS Ministerial Search Team:
Top row:
Denise Victora de Meireles, Karen Rowehl,
Karl Winthrop-Davies, Stella Paynter, Phil Duran.
Bottom row:
Martha Hardesty, Christine Salm,
Bob Aderhold
Reach Out
The Ministerial Search Team welcomes your questions and comments about the search process.
The Ministerial Search Team has kicked off its work to choose the next minister of this beloved congregation.
There are three phases to the search process, culminating in a vote to accept the Search Team’s candidate (finalist).
1: September & October – Congregational Survey, Focus Groups & B4 Workshop
(Updated 11/19/25)
Findings from the Congregational Survey and Focus Groups were presented at an information session on Sunday, November 16 and emailed to members on November 19.
- We had 161 members complete our online congregational survey. A summary of the SURVEY RESULTS can be found here.
- A total of 85 people participated in over a dozen focus group discussions. A report on the FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS is located here.
The Break Barriers, Build Beliefs (B4) DEI workshop took place on Saturday, October 4th and was attended by 52 people. A Beliefs Survey was completed by 46 congregants and staff prior to the workshop. A summary of the B4 WORKSHOP AND findings from the BELIEFS SURVEY can be found here.
2: November & December – Search Team Assembles the FUS Profile
Informed by your input, the congregation’s archives, and the work of the Transition Team, we will create a comprehensive picture of the congregation – our strengths, as well as challenges – that will tell applicants who we are and “how we roll”.
3: January to March – Applicant Interviews and Visits
Qualified applicants express interest in FUS. The search team interviews and hosts (typically) three, to discern who would be the best person for the role of Senior Minister. Note: Applicant names will not be available to the congregation.
4: April – Congregational Vote
After deliberation and agreement with the finalist, the search team informs the Board, and introduces them to the congregation. Following the introduction (typically a week of meet & greet events) the congregation votes on whether to call them to serve.
During the first two phases you will see the Search Team gathering input and crafting the approach to bring in the best possible minister. (The team will use formal and informal methods to gather your opinions.) During the third phase, the team will be mostly silent as we work to maintain the confidentiality of applicants; trust that we are doing our best to represent the congregation and find the best fit for both our aspirations and our current needs.
Updates
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What the New Year Brings to our Ministerial Search
Written by Karen Rowehl and Christine Salm In November, the Ministerial Search Team (MST) reported to the FUS congregation that we were working on our Congregational Record for the UUA Ministry Search Portal. After incorporating feedback from Rev. Jullan and UUA Regional staff, our record was published in the portal at the start of December. Ministers in search had the month of December to review the records of congregations in search and to tell the UUA which ones
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Search Team Presents Congregational Assessment
In early September, the Ministerial Search Team published its first blog which introduced the team and provided an overview of the UUA Settled Search process. At that time, we were just starting our congregational assessment which included an online survey that was emailed to all FUS members and over a dozen focus group discussions that
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Why Attend the “Break Barriers, Build Beliefs” Workshop on October 4th?
Humans are visual. When we think, we form pictures in our minds. What pictures come to you imagining our next minister? Do you have ideas about who that new minister might be? Perhaps you want someone with wisdom and experience, and the picture that forms has graying hair. Or maybe someone who rallies the congregation to
Team Members
Bob Aderhold (he/him)
An FUS member since 1998, Bob has served as a member of the FUS Board of Trustees and as treasurer and president of the FUS Foundation. He currently serves on the tech team running audio and video in the AV booth on Sunday mornings, participates in the music program, and has led FUS efforts to sponsor and support refugee families from Ukraine and Afghanistan. Bob grew up in New Jersey and is married to Audrey Kingstrom. They have two grown sons, Timothy, a local musician, and Gabriel, a Chicago lawyer. Bob is retired from a career in banking and securities regulation.
Phil Duran (he/him)
Phil Duran is a former FUS board chair, longtime member of the Seasonal Celebrations Team, occasional speaker, and frequent Groveland side greeter. He began a new job with the State in January 2025 after a 40-year career in LGBTQ activism. He lives in south Minneapolis with two cats who have shamefully soft lives.
Martha Hardesty (she/her)
Martha Hardesty has been a member of FUS for multiple decades. She’s been a member of the Board of Trustees and numerous other committees or task forces across the years. She and her husband Nasser Pooladian raised their two sons with the help of the Our Whole Lives Curriculum. In spite of an excess of education, she never encountered the word “humanism” until she encountered FUS. Past, present and future make (more) sense now. This Society has become a foundational community for her. Among the most enjoyable activities at FUS have been making costumes for the Seasonal Celebrations, and occasional forays at the Steinway when A and B Team pianists have needed a break.
Stella Paynter (she/her)
Stella has attended FUS since 2015. She has participated in Religious Education, Our Whole Lives (OWL), Coming of Age, and the Boston Heritage trip. Stella has worked for FUS Childcare (children 0-4) and volunteers with the AV Team and the Auction.
Karen Rowehl (she/her)
Karen has been a member of FUS since 2004. She serves as Treasurer of the Foundation of FUS, co-chairs the Seasonal Celebrations Team, and leads the Mental Health Awareness Team. She and husband, Pete Raynor, raised 3 children who attended the religious education program at FUS. Karen is a Registered Dietitian and not currently employed.
Christine Salm (she/her/ella)
Christine moved to St Paul with her husband and two boys in 2022, discovering FUS soon after while exploring the Walker Sculpture Garden. Coming from a UU congregation in NY, Christine was familiar with the UU values, though admittedly new to the term humanism. It didn’t take long for her to realize its definition fit her own beliefs and a bond with FUS was quickly formed. Christine is an elementary-level OWL facilitator, runs a monthly Spanish story time, and participates in events for parents with children in Ethical Explorers.
Denise Victora de Meireles (she/her)
Denise came to FUS as a fourth grader in 1998 and has been involved in the RE/E2 program in many ways—participating as a youth, facilitating senior high classes, chaperoning the Boston Heritage and General Assembly trips, serving on the RE/E2 Committee, and leading Our Whole Lives (OWL) for 8th and 9th graders. She recently served on the Board of Trustees for six years, including three years as Vice Chair, as well as on the Governance Committee, as liaison to the Foundation Board, and on the E2 Director and Interim Minister hiring teams.
Karl Winthrop-Davies (he/him)
Karl discovered FUS about 15 years ago as he was starting to date his now-husband. The congregation had many things he was missing after leaving his old church. And for the things he wishes he’d had there, he volunteers: in the Kitchen for hospitality, as an OWL facilitator for the education he needed at that age; and on Seasonal Celebrations because Axial Tilt is the reason for all the seasons.