The First Unitarian Church of Alton welcomed its new Interim Minister, the Reverend Sunshine J. Wolfe in August following the resignation of its former Minister, the Reverend Khleber Van Zandt who took a new assignment in Florida.
Rev. Wolfe has a Master of Divinity degree from StarrKingSchool for the Ministry. Ghe has served as Interim Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery, AL, Intern Minister at West Shore UU Church in Cleveland, OH, Chaplain Resident at Indiana University Health Hospitals in Indianapolis, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, AZ, as their Spiritual Development Director. Rev. Sunshine has committed gher professional life and personal justice work to countering the damaging effects of poverty, classism, and racism. Ghe has facilitated numerous workshops in the areas of understanding queer identity, classism, racism, self-awareness around manifesting oppression, and theatre of the oppressed. Ghe co-founded the first Poverty Truth Commission at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.
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The Alton UU church, when it learned of Reverend Van Zandt’s planned leaving, worked closely with the national and regional offices of the denomination to avail itself of an Interim Minister rather than embarking immediately on a search for a permanent, settled minister. The purpose of choosing a minister specially trained in interim work is to take advantage of specific skill sets in analyzing the church’s goals, history, membership, and finances to ensure that the search for a settled minister yields someone particularly attuned to the life of the local church. While Reverend Sunshine is committed to the Alton UU Church for two years and will not be a candidate for the permanent position, the Church Board and membership are already excited about the potential changes to be explored during that time.
Rev. Sunshine brings to gher ministry deep care for those who need pastoral support and a commitment to creating beloved community through healthy communication and resisting oppression. Ghe is originally from Indiana where ghe learned to love the earth, sing, and the importance of family. Ghe currently lives in Florissant, MO, with gher cat Gizelle. Rev. Sunshine is published in the anthology Coming Out In Faith: Voices of LGBTQ Unitarian Universalists. Ghe is a member of Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) and serves on the Steering Committee for Transgender Religious professional Unitarian Universalists Together (TRUUST). Ghe is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Minister’s Association and the Interim Ministry Network. Rev. Sunshine is genderqueer and asks that you use the non-gender pronouns “ghe” and “gher” in reference to gherself. The “gh” is pronounced like the “g” in beige.
For more information about this release, contact the church at 618-462-2462.
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